LB OOJ.A 

.P4 
1920 
Copy 1 



SELF-SUPPORTING 
STUDENTS 

IN 

CERTAIN NEW YORK CITY 

HIGH SCHOOLS 



By 



WALTER W. PETTIT 

NEW TOBK SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WOBE 



Price 75 Cents 



THE NEW YORK SCHOOL OP 'SOCIAL WORK 
105 East Twenty-Seconjo Street, New Yobk 

1920 




■■; 1 ^.^^K■3 ; s^;:•.';■:^:^^ : ^■■^■. : ^//I?$s^■x^2■■ 




SELF-SUPPORT IN CERTAIN NEW YORK 
HIGH SCHOOLS 



STUDIES IN SOCIAL WORK 



SELF-SUPPORTING 
STUDENTS 

IN 

CERTAIN NEW YORK CITY 

HIGH SCHOOLS 



By 
WALTER W. PETTIT 

NEW YORK SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK 



Price 75 Cents 



THE NEW YORK SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK 

105 East Twenty-Second Street, New York 

1920 






Copyright, 1920, by 
The New York School of Social Work 



APR -6 1920 



WM • F. FELL CO • PRINTERS 
PHILADELPHIA 


^ 


©CI.A565482 


A/d'\ ' 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Self Support in New York High Schools 7 

II. The Self-Supporting Student 14 

The Working Boy and His Position 18 

a. Economic Status 19 

b. The Position 29 

c. Educational Value of Position 35 

III. The School and the Self-supporting Boy 42 

IV. Co-operative Work 50 

V. The High School and the Student Who Must Work ... 64 

VI. Scholarships 73 

Appendix 78 



[5] 



CHAPTER I 

SELF-SUPPORT IN NEW YORK 
HIGH SCHOOLS 

In a great city like New York there are numerous opportunities for 
a high school pupil to earn money and pay wholly or in part his 
expenses while in school. Part-time positions of various kinds are 
open to boys and girls. Many small stores depend upon high school 
students to take and deliver orders after school hours, and larger 
stores employ students to assist in caring for the extra trade on Satur- 
days. The newspapers of the city give a number of school boys em- 
ployment for a few hours each day, and delivering papers or caring 
for news-stands makes it possible for many a boy to remain in high 
school. The long summer vacation instead of being a period of rest, 
is used by a small army of boys and girls to earn money to meet the 
needs of the next school year. 

Working for salaries is not the only way in which boys and girls are 
helping themselves in securing an education. Many families own 
small stores or stands, and children devote free hours to assisting 
parents in caring for the family business. Assistance rendered parents 
in this way frequently makes it possible to economize in hiring clerks 
and thus the child is permitted to remain in school. Work of this 
type is, therefore, a kind of self-support. 

The following study has to do with New York City high school 
students who are working. The first investigation covered 3,395 
boys and 2,578 girls; the second, 161 boys who were studied inten- 
sively; the third, groups of co-operative students 1 from three high 



1 Co-operative students: Students who are taking vocational courses and who 
work in pairs, alternating between the school and a position. In New York City 
high schools this means every other week in school. 

[7] 



schools. The study deals with the part-time work the student is 
doing from two points of view, that of the student and that of the 
school. The economic status of the boy's family, the position in 
terms of wage paid, hours required and effect on leisure time, and the 
vocational value of work done, are parts of the problem from the 
students' standpoint. The marks of working students, their elimina- 
tion from school, and their regularity of attendance and punctuality 
are considered from the standpoint of the school. Whether students 
who work outside of school hours are able to do as high a grade of 
school work as others do is investigated. Inasmuch as co-operative 
classes in high schools give students who might otherwise leave school 
because of economic pressure an opportunity to support themselves 
in part, these students are studied to see to what extent their half- 
time work interferes with their school work. Finally, an effort is 
made to find out what the high schools are doing to help the working 
student, and the ways in which schools can be of greater assistance 
to the student who must support himself. 

A preliminary study was made of Erasmus, Eastern District, 
De Witt Clinton, and Wadleigh high schools. Erasmus is in a resi- 
dential section of Brooklyn and probably presents less opportunity 
for self-support and less need on the part of the students for outside 
work than the other schools studied. Erasmus was therefore not 
included in the final investigation. Eastern District is a Brooklyn 
high school with a large percentage of students of foreign-born 
parentage. De Witt Clinton is a boys' high school on the west side of 
Manhattan with a large attendance of Jewish boys. Wadleigh is a girls' 
high school in which, at the time this study was made, the students 
were mostly American born and to a large extent of American parents. 
Preliminary questionnaires covering the activities of the students 
for one week were sent to the three high schools. (A copy of 
this four by six questionnaire card will be found in the appendix.) 
In two of the schools the principal, and in the third the head of the 
English Department, distributed the cards to the teachers with a 
request that they be filled out by the pupils without comment from 
the teacher. This was done in the three schools on Tuesday or 

[8] 



Wednesday, February 23 or 24, 1915, and covered the work done by 
the pupils during the week February 14-21. Several investigations 
previously made of the earnings of high school students had included 
the entire year. The possibility of inaccuracy because the student 
failed to remember his earnings for such a long period was so great 
that a shorter period was used in this study. The student was asked 
to state what he had done each day of this week and how much he 
had earned. In order to save embarrassment pupils were told that 
"boy" or "girl" instead of their names might be written at the top 
of the card. Some of the girls in Wadleigh and a few in Eastern Dis- 
trict followed this suggestion. In general the students gave complete 
information under their own names. 

The study of the effect of co-operative work on students' marks was 
made after classes had had one semester on half time in school. These 
classes in Bushwick and Washington Irving high schools were used 
because they were doing the same academic work required of full- 
time students. Unfortunately, the only available way of studying 
these students was the unsatisfactory method of using teachers' 
marks. Only those co-operative students were studied who according 
to their teachers were doing the same work in school that was expected 
of students on full time. 

Finally, a more detailed study was made of some of the boys in De 
Witt Clinton High School. A questionnaire was prepared to supple- 
ment the printed card. This was used with a dozen students and 
somewhat modified before it was used with the whole group of 161 
students. (A sample of this modified questionnaire will be found in 
the appendix.) Interviews were held with these 161 students during 
which the questionnaire was filled out and any further information 
which seemed of value secured. These boys were selected at random 
as far as possible. They were chosen from the* study hall where a 
large and constantly changing group of students may be found at 
almost any hour. They come from all grades and are apparently as 
representative a group as could be found. The interview was held 
at the back of the large stage in the auditorium, and boys were sent 
to the interviewer in groups of two and three by the student monitors. 

[9] 



In the course of investigating what the schools in New York and 
other cities were doing to assist self-supporting students, an interesting 
plan was found in the newly organized work of De Witt Clinton High 
School and this is described somewhat in detail with suggestions for 
making the work more efficient. 

A brief summary of the study is here given the reader. The various 
points in this summary are presented at length in the following pages, 
together with the data secured in the various investigations and a dis- 
cussion of their significance. 

Data from 3,395 New York high school boys show from one-seventh 
to one-sixth of them engaged in remunerative work during the week 
studied, and of 2,578 girls approximately one in twenty was working 
for wages during the same period. Special studies of students in one 
of the high schools show from one-third to one-half the boys working 
for money at some time during the year. 

From the same studies it is evident that from one-seventh to two- 
sevenths of the girls and from one-sixth to one-fourth of the boys are 
assisting parents at home at any one time during the school year. 



Economic Status 

Of a special group of high school boys who reported as to the use 
of their money 21 per cent were supporting themselves, and several 
were supporting their families in addition. In the same group, boys 
who were engaged in remunerative work were living in apartments 
averaging 4.99 rooms each, while the boys who had not been working 
lived in apartments averaging 5.68 rooms in size. Those boys who 
were employed ten hours or over per week came from homes which 
averaged a room smaller than homes of boys who did no work. 

In this group of students parents of children not working were a 
little more frequently the owners of their business than parents of 
children who were working for wages. Parents of children who were 
working without wages were much more frequently the owners of 
their business than parents of children who were not working or who 
were working for money. 

[10 1 



In the group of 3,395 high school boys those born in the United 
States of American-born fathers were less likely to be working than 
those of foreign-born fathers. Boys of foreign-born fathers were 
less likely to be working when they themselves were born in America 
rather than abroad. 

Brothers and sisters of working boys in the small group studied 
intensively were less frequently graduates of elementary schools 
than was the case among brothers and sisters of boys who were not 
working. 

In the same group boys who were not working lived in apartments 
renting for $11.60 a month more than the apartments of boys who were 
working for wages, as shown by inquiries of the janitors. 



Position 

The boys and girls who were working in the high schools studied 
were earning wages which varied greatly. In one high school the 
median wage per hour for boys was 18 cents; in another 25 cents. 
For girls the median wage per hour was 30 cents in the two schools 
studied. 

The number of hours worked per week for wages varied greatly, 
being twelve as a median in one school for boys and seven as a median 
for boys in another school. Girls worked a smaller number of hours 
per week, the median being six and four and a half in groups of girls 
from two schools. 

Of a group of De Witt Clinton High School students those who do 
not work report for the week studied more recreation than students 
who work. This holds true for the number of different kinds of 
recreation, for the number of times any recreative activity was engaged 
in, as well as for the total number of hours devoted to recreation. A 
comparison of students working for wages ten hours or more per 
week with students not working, shows the latter to have had almost 
twice as much recreation from the standpoint of hours, kinds, and 
number of recreative activities engaged in. Long hours of work 
outside school greatly decrease the attendance of school boys at 

[11] 



movies and shows, and the data indicate that participation in athletic 
sports suffers even a greater reduction. 

In the small group of boys studied the most common way of se- 
curing a position was found to be reliance on friends. Calling on 
employers and answering advertisements were given as next in 
popularity. 

Boys earn money in a great variety of occupations. The most 
popular is working in stores or offices. Twenty-seven per cent of the 
students working for wages in one school and 20 per cent in another 
were so employed. Taking orders and delivering for stores, work 
connected with the distribution of newspapers, and employment as 
pages in public libraries are popular occupations. The girls' work is 
much less varied and practically all the girls from whom data were 
received were earning through teaching, working in stores or offices, 
or as waitresses or nurse maids. 

In most cases there is no relation discernible between the work the 
boy is doing and the future occupation he intends to enter. 



The School and the Working Boy 

In the small group of students studied, boys working do not appear 
to be handicapped in their school work in so far as school marks are 
an indication. This conclusion is supported by another study in 
which boys who are working at least up to twenty hours a week are 
given as high marks as boys who are not working. 

There is more elimination from school among the boys who work 
than among the boys who do not in the case of 100 boys selected at 
random from each of two schools, half of whom were working. 

In the small group of students, boys who were working were less 
regular in their attendance and a little more likely to be tardy than 
boys who were not working. 

In co-operative work in two schools studied the students seemed 
to be suffering little or no handicap from the half time devoted to 
work. There seems to be a tendency among the co-operative students 
studied to do just average work, and the distribution range of their 

[12 1 



marks is smaller than in the case of students in regular courses. 
Co-operative work furnishes a means of helping the boy who must 
support himself to remain in school. 

In a large high school the appointment of a special teacher to advise 
with students and assist in placing those who must work is advocated. 
The interest of the home, employer, and school must be taken into 
consideration, and a central bureau organized where the work of the 
different high schools can be systematized and the information of 
the co-ordinators 1 of the different high schools utilized. 

Finally, the English system of secondary scholarships is described 
and contrasted with the policy of the Board of Education in New 
York City. 



1 The teacher who supervises the student in the shop or office and correlates the 
work of the classroom with the outside work. 



13 



CHAPTER II 
THE SELF-SUPPORTING STUDENT 

The first study of self-support in New York City high schools covered 
5,973 students in the three high schools, De Witt Clinton (a boys' 
high school), Eastern District (a co-educational school), and Wad- 
leigh (a girls' school). Each student filled out the questionnaire 
card shown in the appendix, and stated whether he had worked with 
or without pay the previous week, what kind of work he had done 
each day, how long it took him, and how much his daily earnings 
were. 

Later an intensive study was made of 161 boys in De Witt Clinton 
High School covering the two vacation months, July and August, and 
the first two months of the school year, September and October. 

Number of Students Working 

Because of irregular programs, absence, and refusal to co-operate, it 
was impossible to secure returns from the total registration of the 
schools studied. 

In Wadleigh High School returns from the students were especially 
poor, and but 53 per cent of the girls in the classes studied gave the 
information requested. Special effort would doubtless have resulted 
in more complete returns, but the small number of girls working did 
not seem to justify the expenditure of additional time. Of the 1,322 
in this school who filled out the cards 58 reported that they were 
working for money, and 206 that they were working outside of school 
hours but were receiving no wages in return for their work. In 
Eastern District High School where the students filled out the cards 
much more generally than in Wadleigh, the number of girls working 

[14] 



for wages was but 69 out of the 1,256 who gave returns. In Wad- 
leigh 4.4 per cent of the girls reporting were working for wages, while 
in Eastern District the percentage was 5.5. Positions for girls Satur- 
days and after school hours are doubtless more difficult to find and 
are not so varied as in the case of boys. In Wadleigh High School 
15.6 per cent, while at Eastern District 361, or 28.7 per cent, of the 
girls were working at home without receiving pay. These girls are 
doing housework or assisting in parents' offices and stores. In 
Eastern District High School 115, or 17.3 per cent, of the boys were 
working for wages during the week studied as compared with 386, 
or 14 per cent, in De Witt Clinton. Of the Eastern District boys, 
26.8 per cent were working without wages, and but 18 per cent of the 
De Witt Clinton boys were in this class. The investigation of the 
work done during this one week showed that from 20 per cent of the 
girls in Wadleigh to 44 per cent of the Eastern District boys were 
doing some work outside of school hours either with or without pay. 

This data, it must be remembered, were the results of a study 
covering but one week in the spring of 1915. This was a school week 
and the data are not indicative of conditions during vacation periods. 
In order to determine to what extent students work during the sum- 
mer this question was included in the study of the 161 boys in De 
Witt Clinton High School. These boys were interviewed during No- 
vember, 1915. The questionnaire used in these interviews with 
161 students in De Witt Clinton High School, a copy of which will 
be found in the appendix, covered the vacation months of July and 
August and the school months of September and October, 1915. 
These 161 students were as nearly a random selection from the student 
body in De Witt Clinton High School as it seemed possible to make. 1 
The method of selecting them has been previously explained. It is 
possible that in a few cases boys may have come to interview the 
investigator at their own request. Some of these boys were employed 

1 In order to determine to what extent this group of 161 boys represented the 
student body of De Witt Clinton High School, the nationality of the students 
comprising the group of 161 studied was compared with the nationality of the 
2,731 who had been studied previously and who represented 88 per cent of the 
average attendance in the seven upper classes, the only classes from which data 

[15 1 



and desired to give information about their work. On the other 
hand, some of the boys were under the impression that an effort 
was being made to find positions for boys, and in two or three cases 
boys not at work who wanted something to do came to apply for a 
position. Of the 161 boys interviewed in De Witt Clinton 104, or 
65 per cent, had been working the previous summer either for wages 
or at home without pay. Eighty-three, or 52 per cent, had been 
working for wages. 

This study of 161 boys gave a more representative picture of the 
amount of self-support among high school students during the school 
year than the study of one week's activities made the previous spring, 
as it covered two months of the school year and was also made under 
direct supervision of the investigator. Of these 161 boys 91, or 56 
per cent, had been earning wages at some time during the four 
months. In addition there were 28, or 17 per cent, who had worked 
without receiving pay. A total, therefore, of 73 per cent of the 
group studied had been working. In this special group the week 
before the investigation there were 49, or 30 per cent, of the boys at 
work for wages, and 44, or 27 per cent, working without wages. 

There is considerable difference in the results of the two studies, 
both made in De Witt Clinton High School. So far as the investi- 
gator was able to ascertain, both studies were made at a period which 
was neither particularly favorable nor particularly unfavorable for 
securing work. In accounting for the discrepancy in the results it 



were secured. The results shown below indicate that at least from the standpoint 
of nationality the group was very representative. 



Birthplace of 


Per Cent op 

Group of 2,731 

Studied 


Per Cent of 
Group of 161 
Interviewed 


Father 


Child 


United States 

Russia 

Russia 

Italy 

Italy 

Austria 

Austria 


United States 
United States 
Russia 

United States 
Italy 

United States 
Austria 


15 
26 
16 

3 
1 

18 
7 


14 
22 
16 
3 
1 
20 
14 



16 



must be remembered that the latter study in which the larger figures 
were secured was made through a personal interview with the student, 
that there was opportunity to explain to the boy the purpose of the 
study, and that each boy was told that the data secured were to be 
kept in the possession of the investigator, no teacher or other person 
having access to them. On the other hand, the former and larger 
study had been made through the schools, the cards being distributed 
and collected by the class-room teachers. One factor in reducing the 
percentage of boys who reported themselves as working in the study 
made through the teachers, was unwillingness on the part of some of 
the pupils to have the fact of their employment known. 1 

In an investigation 2 made entirely independent of this study early 
in 1917 of amount of work done by pupils in De Witt Clinton High 



1 This is illustrated in the following cases: 

Case No. 87. Born in Russia, seventeen years of age, sixteen of which have 
been spent here, in the sixth semester of the high school, this young man is em- 
ployed three hours each school day and twelve hours Saturdays and Sundays as 
an optician. In summer he works twelve hours a day. He receives $15 a week in 
summer and $9.00 in the school term. He lives in a flat of four rooms and has 
no older brothers and sisters. His father is a cloak maker and does not own his 
business. The family speak Yiddish at home. He stated that there was no time 
for recreation. He has been working since he was nine years old when he began 
at $1.40 a week. He did not want to give the information requested and would 
answer the questions only when assured that his name would not appear on the 
answers and that the information would never be used in connection with his 
name. Even then he said that he preferred not to give the name and address of his 
employer. 

Case No. 124. This boy was born in New York sixteen years ago of Russian 
parents. He is in the seventh semester of the high school. His father is a dentist 
and the family live in an eight-room apartment. Their home language is English. 
He plays in an orchestra in one of the largest hotels in the city from half -past ten 
to two o'clock each evening. During the summer he played seven hours each 
day. In summer he received $50 a week; in winter he is paid $75. He belongs 
to a union and was very anxious that this information should be absolutely 
confidential as he felt that were the facts known he might not be able to keep his 
position. In the three days program given the interviewer he reported as recrea- 
tion, attending a theater on Saturday, playing in a symphony orchestra on Sun- 
day, and spending several hours on the street Sunday afternoon. He also men- 
tioned the fact that at home he played cards frequently. 

2 This investigation was made under the supervision of Mr. Edward C. Delaney, 
of De Witt Clinton, who has organized the office in which boys are placed in half- 
time positions. 

2 [17 1 



School, returns were received from 4,483 boys, or all the students on 
the register the second week in January, 1917. Boys who worked 
but two or three weeks or earned less than $10 during the year are 
not included in the number of "working boys." The boys who were 
working for their parents are not counted as working boys. There 
were 1,437 boys who received pay for their work during the year, 
or 32 per cent of the group. 1 

The English department of De Witt Clinton High School in 1914 
found of 3,431 students 770, or 22 per cent, earning money at some 
time during the year. 2 

NUMBER OF STUDENTS WORKING 





Number Studied 


Number 
Working 

for 
Wages 


Per Cent 


Number 
Working 
Without 

Wages 


Per Cent 


Eastern District 

Spring, 1915 

Wadleigh 

Spring, 1915 

De Witt CHnton 

Spring, 1915 

°De Witt Clinton 

1914 


Boys .... 1664 
Girls 1256 

Girls 1322 

Boys .... 2731 

Boys 3431 

Boys 4483 

Boys 161 


115 
69 

58 

386 

770 

1437 

91 


17.3 
5.5 

4.4 

14 

22 

35 c 

56 


178 
361 

206 

485 

28 


26.8 

28.7 

15.6 

18 


6 De Witt Clinton 

1917 

De Witt Clinton 

November, 1915 


17 



° Study made by the English Department. 
6 Study made by Mr. Delaney. 

Mr. Delaney's figure corrected to correspond with results of other studies 
made, by excluding students in first semester. 



The Working Boy and His Position 

There are three problems in connection with the boy who is wholly 
or in part supporting himself, which it is here proposed to discuss. 

First, the economic status of the working boy is a fundamental 
problem. Is the boy who is working doing so because he is obliged 

1 If Mr. Delaney had omitted the first semester students, as was done in the 
two investigations previously made, he would have had 1,177 students out of 
3,360 working, or 35 per cent. 

2 From a manuscript report of this study. 

[18] 



to? Do boys who are working come from poorer families than boys 
who are not ? What do rent and size of apartments, father's business, 
and educational opportunities of brothers and sisters indicate with 
regard to the status of working boys ? 

Second, the problem which has to do with the boy's position. Is 
he required to devote too many hours to the work? Does the work 
interfere with his recreation? Is he well paid for his efforts or is 
there a tendency to exploit him? 

Third, the problem which deals with the educational value of the 
work the boy is doing. What kind of work are students doing? Is 
there any relation between this work and the work the student will 
later enter? 

Economic Status of Family 

Data regarding the economic status of the families of working boys 
were secured through the answers to questionnaires which dealt 
indirectly with financial condition. Students were asked the ques- 
tion, What do you do with your money? The answers to the question 
asked on the card indicate that a large number of students are working 
after school hours in order to support themselves in part or wholly. 
In De Witt Clinton High School 113 boys, or 29 per cent, of the boys 
working for money reported that they were using their earnings in sup- 
porting themselves. Twenty-four boys, or 21 per cent, of those work- 
ing for money, and 19 girls, or 27 per cent, of those working for money 
in Eastern District High School, and 5 girls in Wadleigh gave similar 
reports. In De Witt Clinton some of the replies were, "Enable me 
to go to school"; "Self-support, no help from home"; "Keep up 
home"; "Support mother and brother"; "Support family and 
myself " ; " Support home." There were 238 boys in De Witt Clinton 
and 57 in Eastern District, and 51 girls in Eastern District and 23 in 
Wadleigh, who reported that their earnings were used for incidentals 
including school expenses, car fare, clothing, books, lunch, etc. A 
few of the students were saving their money. (28 boys in De Witt 
Clinton and 21 in Eastern District were doing this.) In each of the 
two schools 5 boys gave as the reason, preparation for college ex- 
penses. Five girls in Eastern District and 3 in Wadleigh reported 
that they save their money. 

[19] 



In the group of 161 boys studied in De Witt Clinton High School 
there were but 46 of the 91 earning money who answered the question 
regarding use of their money. Ten of these were self-supporting, 
and 3 of these 10 not only supported themselves but supported 
their families wholly or in part; 22 used their money for general and 
school purposes. Nine boys wrote that they saved their money, and 
of these 2 reported that they were saving their earnings for college 
expenses. Finally 5 boys reported that they turned their money 
over to their parents. 

That the necessity for self-support is a considerable factor in 
elimination from school is indicated by the results of numerous 
studies. Estimates of the importance of economic pressure as a 
cause of elimination vary from 20 per cent to 85 per cent. 1 The diffi- 
culty of estimating the proportion of students leaving school because 
their families need their earnings is apparent as soon as an attempt is 
made to reduce economic pressure to definite terms with which 
another investigator can work and secure similar results. As a 
matter of fact the statement of the child and his parent obtained 
during a visit at the home must for the present be relied upon. 

Mary Flexner found apparently that 376 [526— 150] of a group of 666 
children, or 56 per cent, between the ages of fourteen and sixteen had 
gone to work because their earnings were needed at home. 2 Helen 
T. Wooley found that "only 27 per cent of the families were believed 
to require the earnings of the children, while 73 per cent had ap- 
parently no such economic need. 3 She was studying a group of 650 
families in which native-born white children had left school at the age 



1 These studies deal generally with children in the grammar grades. 

2 A Plea for Vocational Training, Survey, Volume XXII, p. 650. Miss Flexner 
states that school records give 526 children as leaving school from necessity, and 
that interviews in their homes developed that 150 children left school for reasons 
other than economic "thus reducing the number of those whose earnings were 
needed at home from 526 to 380." The latter figure is apparently an error. 
Mary Van Kleeck in citing this study, Working Girls in Evening Schools, page 106, 
states "that apparently 380 out of a total of 530, or 72 per cent, left school because 
of economic pressure." Miss Flexner's study indicates that there were 666 stu- 
dents in the group rather than 526, or the 530 Miss Van Kleeck used. 

3 Charting Childhood in Cincinnati, Survey, Volume XXX, p. 601. 

[20 1 



of fourteen. Mary Van Kleeck reports that of 108 girls who had left 
school before the age of sixteen, "Exactly half the number said that 
they left school to go to work because their earnings were needed at 
home." 1 C. D. Jarvis found that of 699 students who undoubtedly 
would leave school during the year, 278, or 40 per cent, were leaving 
because "family needs help." 2 In the report of the Superintendent 
of Schools in St. Louis 3 there is an analysis of the causes of 3,567 cases 
of elimination in the public schools. "Poverty" and "increasing 
the family income" are assigned as the reason 3,041 children, or 
85.3 per cent of all, had for dropping out of school. In a study made 
by Dr. Anna Y. Reed in Seattle, Seattle Children in School and In- 
dustry, published in January, 1915, economic pressure is said to have 
been the cause for leaving school in the case of 132 out of 486 elimina- 
tions among high school boys and 62 of 336 eliminations among high 
school girls. According to this study 24 per cent of the students 
leaving high school left because of economic pressure. In a study 
made in Massachusetts, "The report of those who left school from 
necessity is 2,450 out of 5,459," or 44 per cent. 4 Alice P. Barrows 
found that "Only 20 per cent of the families visited had a per capita 
income of under $1.50, and on the basis of the government standard 
of income only 20 per cent of the children had to leave on account of 
economic pressure." 5 Ernest L. Talbert states that of 217 families 
represented " 118 gave the economic cause as determining the leaving 
of school; 31 of these were found to be entirely able to send their 
children to school," which leaves 40 per cent who withdrew from 
school for financial reasons. 6 In another study of 605 children, 177, 

1 Working Girls in Evening Schools, p. 110. 

2 Work of School Children during Out-of-School Hours, C. D. Jarvis. Bulletin, 
Bureau of Education, 1917, No. 20, p. 27. 

3 Superintendent's report, St. Louis, 1914-15, p. 417. 

4 Report of the Commission on Industrial and Technical Education, Massa- 
chusetts, April, 1906, p. 86. 

8 Report of Vocational Guidance Survey, Alice P. Barrows, 1912. Reprinted 
from the 14th Annual Report of the City Superintendent of Schools, New York, 
p. 7. 

6 Opportunities in School and Industry for Children of the Stock Yards Dis- 
trict, Ernest L. Talbert, p. 39. 

[21] 



or 29.3 per cent, were found to have left school because their earnings 
were necessary to family support. 1 

In the present study additional data bearing on the economic status 
of families of working boys were obtained in answer to questions re- 
garding size of apartments, education of brothers and sisters, and 
ownership of father's business. It is, of course, realized that size of 
apartments in New York may have less to do with the wealth of a 
family than location, and that ownership of business means little. 
The significance of these facts becomes of importance as they re- 
inforce one another by pointing to the same conclusion. In the case 
of rents of apartments gathered by house-to-house visits, it is believed 
a very definite indication of financial status is presented. 

Economic Position of the Family as Measured by the Size of the 
Apartment. — In the questionnaire used with the special group in 
De Witt Clinton High School, each student was asked: 

Do you live in a flat or a private house? If a flat, how many rooms? 

Most of the students answered this question. Of 91 students who 
were working for money, 10 lived in private houses and 72 in apart- 
ments. Nine did not answer the question. There were 42 boys who 
were not working, and of these, 8 lived in private houses and 2 failed 
to answer the question. The boys who were or had been working 
for money during the preceding weeks lived in apartments averaging 
4.99 rooms each; the boys who had not been working during the four 
months studied lived in apartments averaging 5.68 rooms in size. 
The boys who were working ten hours or longer per week at the time 
the study was made lived in apartments averaging 4.69 rooms each. 
There were but 23 boys in this group. These figures indicate that 
boys who do no work live in apartments which average a room larger 
than boys who are working for wages ten hours or more per week. 

Father's Business. — Each student was asked to give his father's 
occupation and state whether the business in which his father was 
engaged belonged to the family or not. The occupation itself had 
little significance. A tailor may be the owner of a large shop, or a 



1 Report on Condition of Women and Child Wage-Earners in the United States, 
Volume VII, p. 46, 1910. 

[22] 



SIZE OF APARTMENTS 





Boys Working 
for Monet 


Boys Working 
without Monet 


Bots 
not Working 


No answer 


9 

1 

7 

23 

14 

19 

5 

2 

1 

10 


2 

3 

4 
7 
5 
4 
1 

2 


2 


2 rooms 


1 


3 


1 


4 


4 


5 


7 


6 


10 


7 


6 


8 


3 


9 




Private house 


8 






Total 


91 


28 


42 



man engaged in making garments. The data indicate that so far as 
this group is concerned, the father of a boy who is not working for 
money is more likely to own his own business than the parent of a boy 
who is working. 



Does Parent Own 
Business? 


Bots 

Working 

for 

Wages 


Per Cent 


Bots 

Working 
without 
Wages 


Per Cent 


Bots not 
Working 


Per Cent 


Yes 


33 
39 
19 


36 
43 
21 


21 
4 
3 


75 
14 
11 


19 

17 

6 


45 


No 


40 


No answer 


15 







Of the boys who are working ten hours or more a week, 13 have 
fathers who own their own business, 11 have fathers who do not, and 
6 do not answer the question. 

The high proportion of boys working ten hours or more whose 
fathers own their own business may be due to the small size of the 
group, or to the fact that they come from families owning small 
stores. The latter fact doubtless explains the 75 per cent of boys 
working without wages whose fathers own their own business. When 
the family owns a store there is abundant opportunity to assist in it, 
and a few hours of work a week was reported on the card frequently 
in such cases. 

Ownership of business, as has been previously said, has compara- 
tively little significance by itself. It may mean ownership of a push 

[23] 



cart or a small East Side store. It is even of less value because so 
many of the parents of the students studied were Russian Jews, among 
whom there seems to be a very strong tendency to begin some small 
business enterprise for themselves as soon as a little capital is 
accumulated. 

Birthplace and Self-Support. — The birthplace of a student may indi- 
cate something regarding his economic status. In general, the- immi- 
grant recently arrived is having a greater financial struggle than is the 
second generation. The study showed that children born abroad 
were more likely to have to work than children born in this country 
of parents born abroad. Families which have recently immigrated 
are apparently financially unable to meet the expense of educating 
their children without some assistance from the boy himself. 





Eastern District 


De Witt Clinton 


Boys born abroad 


195 

42 
22 
460 
72 
16 


656 


Working for wages 

Per cent 


144 
22 


Boys born in United States 


1373 


Working for wages 

Per cent 


191 
14 







This difference is especially noteworthy in the large group of Rus- 
sian Jews in De Witt Clinton High School. In this institution a boy 
born in Russia is twice as likely to be self-supporting wholly or in 
part as a boy born in the United States of Russian parents. The 
following table shows the relation between birthplace and self-sup- 
port in the case of boys working for wages: 



Birthplace of 


Eastern District 


De Witt Clinton 


Boy 


Father 


Number 

in 
School 


Number 
Work- 
ing 


Per Cent 


Number 

in 
School 


Number 
Work- 
ing 


Per Cent 


United States . . 
United States . . 

Russia 

United States . . 

Austria 

United States . . 
Italy 


United States 

Russia 

Russia 

Austria 

Austria 

Italy 

Italy 


30 

244 

137 

100 

26 

17 

7 




44 

30 

16 

2 

3 

2 



18 
22 
16 

8 
18 
29 


408 
696 
435 
473 
188 
80 
36 


49 
71 
97 
56 
41 
15 
6 


12 
10 
22 
12 
22 
19 
17 







24 



The probability is that the economic status of the Russian Jew in 
one generation has improved to such an extent that the boy can be 
sent to school without having to look for a position where he can earn 
something to add to the family income. The same thing holds true 
of the group of Austrian origin in De Witt Clinton High School. 

An examination of the data of the boys who are working without 
wages shows that there is a larger per cent in this group born in the 
United States of Austrian or Russian fathers than in the group working 
for wages. This may well indicate that the longer residence of these 
families in America has resulted in savings which have permitted the 
opening of a small business in which boys work. This may also ex- 
plain in part the 75 per cent of boys working without wages whose 
fathers own their own business. 



TABLE SHOWING BIRTHPLACE OF BOYS WORKING WITHOUT 

WAGES 



Birthplace of 


Eastern District 


De Witt Clinton 


Boy 


Father 


Number 

in 
School 


Number 
Work- 
ing 


Per 

Cent 


Number 

in 
School 


Number 
Work- 
ing 


Per 
Cent 


United States . . . 
United States . . . 
Russia 


. United States 
. Russia 
. Russia 
. Austria 
. Austria 
. Italy 
Italy 


30 

244 

137 

100 

26 

17 

7 


10 
59 
32 
22 

4 
4 
1 


33 
24 
23 
22 
15 
23 
14 


408 
696 
435 
473 
188 
80 
36 


32 
130 
79 
83 
29 
14 
15 


8 

19 

18 


United States . . . 
Austria 


18 
15 


United States . . . 
Italy 


18 

42 







Education of Brothers and Sisters. — Each of the 161 students inter- 
viewed in De Witt Clinton High School was asked to state the num- 
ber of older brothers and sisters he had, and the grade of each on 
leaving school. The 91 boys of the group who had been working for 
money at some time during the previous four months reported 57 
brothers and 66 sisters. The 42 boys who had done no work reported 
21 brothers and 33 sisters. Among the older brothers and sisters of the 
group working for wages there were 73, or 59 per cent, who had finished 
elementary school. The group of boys not working had 47 brothers 
and sisters, or 87 per cent, who had finished the elementary school. 

[25 1 



Students working ten hours or more a week for wages at the time 
the study was made reported 17 older brothers and 21 older sisters. 
Thirteen brothers and 11 sisters had graduated from the elementary 
school. Three of these brothers had gone on into college or normal 
school, and one of the sisters had entered high school. Sixty-two per 
cent of the brothers and sisters of students working ten hours or longer 
had graduated from public school, 11 per cent from high school, and 
but 8 per cent had entered higher institutions. The data indicate 
that in so far as educational opportunities measure economic status, 
the boys who were not working were from families with more money 
than the boys who were working. 

Working boys show a percentage of brothers who finish the ele- 
mentary school not much lower than that of brothers of non-working 
boys. This is 63 per cent in the first case and but 75 per cent in the 
second. However, a much larger percentage of non-working boys' 
than of working boys' sisters graduated from the elementary school, 
88 per cent in the first case and 56 per cent in the second. The 
working boys' families are apparently not able to keep their daughters 
in school as long as are the families of boys not working. Brothers of 
working boys, however, are able to be also in part self-supporting and 
earn their way through school. Therefore the per cent of brothers 
of working boys graduating from elementary school is more nearly 
that of brothers of boys who are not working. 

Rent of Apartments. — In New York where, as it has been said, the 
size of an apartment is of little significance in measuring the economic 
position of a family because so much depends upon the location of the 
apartment, and where ownership of business among the great in- 
dustrial and commercial organizations has little meaning, a better 
index of economic standing is the rent paid for an apartment. The 
unreliability of information when furnished by the student himself 
made it necessary to secure the facts through some other means. An 
investigator was sent to the addresses which boys had given on their 
cards, and through this means the rents were secured for 36 boys who 
were earning money and 27 boys who were not working during the 
four months preceding the investigation, two of which had been vaca- 

[26] 



tion months. The investigator knew the size of the apartment as 
given by the boy and with this information asked the janitor of each 
building visited the rate for an apartment of that size. The investi- 
gator knew many of the boys personally and was in most cases able 
to check up items regarding the size of apartments. In but one case 
did he fail to secure the information, and that was where the boy had 
given the address of his employer instead of his own. 

Boys who were working for wages were living in apartments which 
rented for from $9.00 to $63 a month. Boys who were not working 
were living in apartments for which from $8.00 to $100 a month was 
paid. Boys who were not working came from families which paid 
an average of $11.60 a month more for their apartments than do 
the families of boys who were working. Table on page 28 shows the 
relation between the distribution of rents of working boys and boys 
who were not working. 

The students who were working while attending school came from 
f amilies lower in the economic scale than boys who were not working. 
Many of the students were kept in school by their own earnings. It 
was necessary for them to earn if they were to continue their educa- 
tion. The remunerative employment in which they were engaged, 
outside of school hours, helped to keep the already large proportion 
of students leaving school because of economic pressure from in- 
creasing. This investigation strengthens one in the opinion that 
there is often a great struggle to secure an education both on the 
part of the child and his family. Born abroad or coming from families 
which have immigrated from countries without free schools or where 
race prejudice prevented their attending public schools, these chil- 
dren by the hundred grasp the opportunities offered them here fre- 
quently at the expenditure of great effort and sacrifice. The rents 
many of them pay indicate the poverty from which they come. 

Data of this sort emphasize the care needed in outlining a curric- 
ulum for such students. Most of those studied were taking the 
academic courses, Latin, mathematics, English, history and science. 
Many of them who will fail of their aim to enter college will thus be 
thrown into life with a smattering of a number of subjects for which 
their position in industry will find little use. 

[27] 



RENTS FOR APARTMENTS OF BOYS IN DE WITT CLINTON 
HIGH SCHOOL 





Boys Working 


Boys not 


Monthly 


Boys Working 


Boys not 


Rent 


for Wages 


Working 


Rent 


for Wages 


Working 


$8 




1 


$26 




3 


9 


1 




27 


1 




10 


1 




28 


2 


3 


12 


1 




29 


1 




13 


1 




30 


2 


1 


14 


1 


1 


32 


1 


2 


15 


2 




35 




2 


16 


1 




40 




1 


17 


1 




45 


2 




18 


6 


1 


58 




1 


19 


4 




60 




1 


20 


3 


2 


63 


1 




22 


1 




65 




1 


23 




1 


68 




1 


24 


1 
3 


1 

2 


100 




1 


25 
















37 


26 



Monthly Rent of 

Boys Working 

for Wages 



Monthly Rent of 
Boys not Work- 
ing 



Average 

Median 

1st quartile 

3rd quartile 

A.D. from median 



$22.78 

19.00° 

17.50 

26.00 

7.08 



$34.38 
28.00 
23.50 
35.00 
12.61 



<Tn a study of 3,000 families applying for relief in the Charity Organization 
Society of the City of New York between January 1 and September 30, 1916, the 
median rent paid was between $10 and $11.99, and 50 per cent of the families 
were paying from $8.00 to $14. 

In Causes of the Elimination of Students in the Public Secondary Schools in 
New York City, by J. K. Van Denburg, page 81, the median rent for 420 apart- 
ments of students was from $17.50 to $22.50. The mode was $12.50 to $17.50 and 
the average $29. 

That many of these boys will soon leave is shown by the data on 
elimination from New York high schools. In the term ending June 
30, 1906/ 21.3 per cent were eliminated, and for the semester, March 
to May, 1916, the average for the city was 5.9 per cent. 2 The present 



1 Van Denburg, Causes of the Elimination of Students in the Public Secondary 
Schools in New York City, pp. 11-12. 

2 Report on High Schools for the year ending July 31, 1916, New York City. 

[28 1 



investigation showed that in the two groups studied in Eastern Dis- 
trict and in De Witt Clinton high schools there was more elimination 
among students who were working for wages than among others. 



The Position 

The facts cited indicate that there are many families in which it is 
necessary that school children assist in earning money, and that a 
considerable part of the elimination from school is due to economic 
necessity. Many of the students who are working are enabled to 
attend high school only because they are self-supporting. 

There is, however, always a danger that in the case of these ado- 
lescent boys and girls too many hours will be devoted to work, and 
that school work will be neglected and the recreation period shortened. 
There is also the danger that these young people who must earn, but 
who are not protected by union organizations or by the child labor 
laws, may be exploited by their employers. In the following section 
data will be given regarding age, the number of hours students work, 
the amount of recreation working boys have, and the wages they 
receive. 

Wages Received. — The median salary of 372 boys in De Witt Clinton 
High School who gave their earnings during the school week studied 
was $2.50, and 50 per cent of the group were receiving from $1.50 to 
$3.75. Across the East River in Eastern District, positions are 
apparently not so remunerative, and the median wage for boys is but 
$1.50 x with quartiles at 80 cents and $2.75. The De Witt Clinton 
boy earns more than the Eastern District boy. De Witt Clinton 
High School is easily accessible to the business sections of New York, 
which may in part explain the difference. 

The median salary per hour in De Witt Clinton is 18 cents, with 
the first and third quartiles at 9 and 33 cents. In Eastern District 



1 In Work of School Children During Out-of-School Hours, by C. D. Jarvis, 
Bulletin, U. S. Bureau of Education, 1917, No. 20, p. 8, is the statement that for 
3,846 children in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades, "the average weekly earn- 
ings for those who work during out-of-school hours amount to $1.51." 

[29 1 



High School the boys are earning a median salary of 25 cents an hour, 
with quartiles at 14 and 37 cents. 

Though the boy in De Witt Clinton earns approximately a dollar 
more per week than the Eastern District boy, yet his median wage 
per hour is 6 cents less, and his average wage 5 cents less than that of 
the boy across the river. There is more work for the boy to do in 
Manhattan, but the pay is poorer. In some cases the student is 
paid so little for his time that were the facts known, he would doubtless 
be advised to discontinue his work and find another position. One 
boy who was working nine hours a day seven days a week selling candy 
in a theater received but 4 cents an hour. 

Both groups of boys were earning more each week than were the 
girls in the two schools from which data were collected. In Eastern 
District, girls had for the week studied a median salary of $1.25, with 
quartiles at 50 cents and $2.50. In Wadleigh the median salary was 
$1.50, with half the girls receiving from 75 cents to $2.00 a week. In 
both schools the median wage an hour for girls was 30 cents. In 
Eastern District half the girls were receiving from 11 to 50 cents an 
hour, and in Wadleigh from 20 to 50 cents. 

The higher median wage an hour paid to girls was due in part to 
the fact that a larger proportion of the girls working were giving 
lessons. A majority of these were giving music lessons, for which 
they received 50 cents or $1.00 an hour. Many of the boys were 
teaching English to foreigners and frequently received 25 cents an 
hour and occasionally 50 cents. 

These wages do not seem low when compared with the wage paid 
high school students during the summer vacation. The average 
weekly wage for a small group of boys in De Witt Clinton during the 
summer vacation was $6.00. The co-operative students in New York 
high schools for the week ending May 20, 1916, earned an average 
salary of $2.86. 

There are many high school boys who are earning comparatively 
high wages in De Witt Clinton. Of 372 boys whose weekly wage is 
known, 62, or 16 per cent, were earning $5.00 or more a week, and 16 
of these, or 4 per cent, receive $10 or more. One young fellow owns 

[30 1 



and operates his own restaurant and is making $56 a week; another 
plays in an orchestra in a popular hotel and earns $75 weekly. 1 

Number of Hours Worked. — One of the greatest dangers arising 
from the outside work which high school students do, is in the long 
hours some of them are required to work. With no supervision on the 
part of the school or the state over their work, individual employers 
and parents are likely to require an unreasonable amount of work 
done outside of school hours. A railway mail clerk and a post-office 
clerk were giving five hours to high school work. The clerk in a 
telegraph office who worked from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. every day in the 
week was one of the most extreme cases found. 2 In De Witt Clinton 
High School the median number of hours worked by boys who re- 
ported that they were earning wages was 12, while the quartiles were 
6 and 21. In Eastern District High School the median number of 
hours worked by the boys was 7, with the quartiles at 3 and 16. For 
girls in the same school the median was 6 hours, and quartiles at 3.5 
and 10, while in Wadleigh the median was 4.5, with quartiles at 2 
and 10. 

Students who are working at home have also long hours, especially 
in Eastern District and De Witt Clinton where there are many work- 
ing in parents' shops. In Wadleigh, of 156 girls who furnished the 
data and were giving an hour or more a week to home work, 151 were 
doing some form of housework — cooking, dusting, washing dishes, 
or minding the baby. This work does not require so much time 
apparently, and in Wadleigh the girls working without pay are giving 
a median of four hours with quartiles at 2 and 8, as compared with the 
median of four and a half hours, with quartiles at 2 and 10 of girls 
who are earning money. 



1 See appendix for hourly wage distribution tables. 

2 Case No. 82. A Jewish, boy who has been employed during the last six years 
in a telegraph office in various positions, beginning as a messenger. He is eighteen 
years of age, in the senior class, and works fifteen hours a day in summer and 
nine hours a day during the school year. He is self-supporting and able to save 
some money for college. He lamented the fact that his only recreation is an hour's 
practise on the violin each day, and that he has never had time to make friends 
among the boys. The attention of some of his teachers was called to the case and 
as a result of their advice he dropped his work. 

[311 



In Eastern District, girls working without pay have eight as a 
median number of hours, as compared with six hours for those with 
pay, and for boys eight hours compared with seven for pay. There 
were 9 boys working without wages in Eastern District thirty hours 
or more per week, and in every case they were clerking in parents' 
stores. The longest period of work in a week was seventy-one hours, 
reported by a girl of Eastern District High School who was nursing 
a sick mother. The girl working next longest was " attending store" 
fifty-five hours weekly. 

The kind of work, the age of the boy, and his physical condition 
are such important factors in determining the length of time he should 
be permitted to work outside of school hours, that a statement that a 
boy should not work more than a given number of hours per week can 
hardly be ventured. Each case calls for study and decision on its 
own merits. It would seem, however, to be inadvisable for a student 
who is spending five hours a day in high school to work twenty hours 
or more a week at any occupation unless circumstances were very ex- 
ceptional. In De Witt Clinton 115 boys, or 30 per cent, of those earning 
money are employed twenty hours or more a week; in Eastern District 
20 boys and 5 girls, and in Wadleigh 6 girls are working such long hours. 

The next problem was to determine to what extent the work which 
students are doing outside of school hours affects their recreation 
period. 

Recreation. — Of the group of 161 students at De Witt Clinton 
High School questions were asked regarding the kinds of recreation 
engaged in during the week preceding the study and the number of 
times each kind of recreation had occurred. Each student was re- 
quested to make out a program by hours of his activities during the 
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday preceding the investigation. No 
special mention of recreation was made in this request but the data 
have been used to determine the amount of time the students devote 
to recreation. In examining the results of the questionnaire the 
students were divided into two groups — those who were not working 
and those who were working. There were 68 who were not engaged 
in any kind of work during the week studied, and 93 who were working 

[321 



either for wages or without wages. This latter group was later 
divided into four parts; those working for wages ten hours or more a 
week and of whom there were 30, those working for wages less than 
ten hours a week, 19 in number, those who were employed at home 
ten hours or more a week, and those working at home for less than 
ten hours a week. There were 20 and 24 in the last two groups 
respectively. 

The questions were given to the students in the following form: 
Check below recreations you have had the past week giving number 
of times engaged in 

Movies Clubs 

Theater Gym (outside school hours) 

Pool or billiard hall Swimming pool 

Dance hall Athletic field 

Walking Games at home 

Name any other engaged in. 

The different kinds of recreation engaged in during the week pre- 
ceding the investigation were first tabulated. This was done without 
regard to the number of times any one form of recreation occurred 
during this week. All students who were working, without regard to 
how many hours they were employed or whether they were receiving 
pay, reported an average of 4.1 different kinds of recreation in the 
week. Students who were not working mentioned 4.4 kinds of 
recreation on the average. All students who were employed during 
this week for ten hours or more with or without pay were next con- 
sidered. They reported 3.3 kinds of recreation. The thirty students 
who were employed ten hours or longer for pay, however, averaged 
but 2.6 kinds of recreation. 

The hourly programs for the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday pre- 
ceding the study were next examined and the number of different 
kinds of recreation mentioned tabulated without regard to the num- 
ber of times any one kind occurred in a single student's program. 
Students who were not working mentioned an average of 4.5 1 kinds of 



1 This figure for three days is greater than that for the entire week. This is due 
to the fact that in the suggested list of recreations for the week, visiting and 
parties were not included but were reported frequently in the three day program. 

3 [33 1 



recreation during these three days especially studied, while the stu- 
dents who were working reported but 3 kinds. Those working ten 
hours or more a week gave but 2.48 different kinds of recreation, 
while those working for wages ten hours or more averaged 2.53. 

In the hourly program for three days each student mentioned his 
activities and the length of time he was engaged in them. From 
these figures it was possible to estimate how much recreation boys 
had during the three days, one of which was a school day. The data 
indicate that the 93 boys who were working had on the average 9.7 
hours recreation during the three days studied, while the boys who 
were not working averaged 14.7 hours. The group which was working 
ten hours or more each week averaged during these three days 7.8 
hours recreation, while those 30 boys who were working ten hours or 
more for wages had but 7.7 hours for recreation. 

The students, in addition to mentioning the number of recreations 
engaged in and the length of time devoted to an activity, mentioned 
in their report for the preceding week the number of times each ac- 
tivity occurred during the week. The total number of times a recrea- 
tion was mentioned by a student during the week is the basis for. the 
following table : 

Average of the Total 
Number or Times 
Recreation Activi- 
ties Were Mentioned 
During the Week 

Students not working 9.9 

Students working 7.5 

Students working 10 hours or more per week 6.5 

Students working 10 hours or more per week for wages 5.4 

These figures indicate that in the group studied the boy who works 
has to sacrifice recreation time, and in the case of boys who work for 
wages ten hours or more a week, the amount of recreation is about 
one-half that of boys who are not working. Boys who are working 
ten hours or more for wages get along with less recreation than do boys 
working the same length of time at home. Much of the home work is 
looking after stores when it is possible to do some studying. There is, 
therefore, more time perhaps for recreation after school and work hours. 

Much of the time devoted to recreation by the high school boys 
studied is spent in the theaters and movies. The 30 boys working 

[34 1 



for money ten hours or more per week report 18 visits to the theater 
or moving picture show during the week studied, and 14 during the 
last three days of the week when hourly programs were submitted. 
On the other hand the 68 students not working reported 96 visits to 
the theater and movies in the week and on the last three days 51 visits. 
The boy who has nothing to do outside of school spends much more 
time at shows. This would not seem of great significance from the 
standpoint of the working boy if it were not for the fact that the num- 
ber of visits to the swimming pool, gymnasium, and athletic field 
show a similar falling off on the part of boys working ten hours or 
more. The 30 boys working for wages ten hours or more a week 
mention athletic activities but 25 times for the week studied, while 
the 68 boys not working mention such activities 191 times. An 
examination of the daily program for the three days, which included a 
Saturday and Sunday when special opportunity for recreation exists, 
discloses the fact that the 30 boys mention participation in active 
games but five times, while the 68 boys not working mention such 
activities 63 times. All references to watching games are eliminated 
from these figures. 

Educational Value of Position 

The third problem concerns the relation of the students' position to 

his future work. The method used in securing a position naturally 

has much to do with this. It cannot be expected that high school 

students unassisted, will display great ingenuity in finding positions 

where they will engage in activities of value to themselves . Blind alley 

positions often appeal to the boy because the salary is attractive and the 

nature of the work is such that it can be engaged in after school hours. 

How Positions were Secured. — In the questionnaire used in De Witt 

Clinton High School the following question was asked : 

If you tried to get a job last summer, indicate below what you did to get one. 
Registered at an employment agency. 
Asked teachers to find me a place 
Asked friends. 
Answered advertisements. 
Called on employers. 
Advertised. 
Through family influence. 

[35] 



By far the most common way of securing a position is by reliance 
on one's friends. Thirty-seven boys checked asked friends as the 
means they had used in trying to secure a job. Twenty-two had 
called on employers in an effort to secure work during the previous 
summer. The next most popular means was answering advertise- 
ments. Family influence was given by 15. One boy reported that 
he had been asked to take a position without having made any effort 
to secure one; another had inserted an advertisement in the papers. 
An expert musician secured his engagements through the union. 
The employment agency is not a popular means of securing positions 
for this group of boys. But one of the 95 replies mentioned the em- 
ployment agency. The Y.M.C.A. found a position for one boy. 
Teachers have not played an important part in securing positions for 
this group of boys. Only one boy checked, "Asked teachers to find 
me a place." The employment secretaries in school where placement 
work is organized have given little attention to this work. In 1915-16 
the Employment and Recommendation Bureau of one of the New 
York high schools filled 471 positions, but only some 10 part-time 
places were filled. In the year 1916-17 this number was increased 
to 100. In another high school there were about 50 part-time posi- 
tions filled through the employment secretary during 1916-17. 1 

Kinds of Work Students Do. — The boys are doing many different 
kinds of work. A table of the positions held by students is appended. 
In De Witt Clinton High School there are more boys working in stores 
and offices than in any other line. Ninety-nine, or 27 per cent, of 
the students working for wages in this school are in stores or offices. 
In Eastern District, 23, or 20 per cent, of the boys are so engaged. 



1 "There are two chief methods of finding a place. One is to have the path 
made easy by the father or mother or some other relative 'who has a pull' with 
the boys, and with this method may be included the plan of having ' a friend put 
in a word. ' The second way is to 'hang around' after leaving school or a previous 
place, looking up 'ads,' walking the street in order to catch sight of the 'Boy 
Wanted' signal, or making written and oral application to many establishments. 
Data on this point show about an equal number of boys and girls using the 
'assisted' and the 'alone' method." Opportunities in School and Industy for 
Children of the Chicago Stock Yards District, p. 22, Ernest L. Talbert. These 
children left school in the grammar school grades to look for full-time positions. 

[36 1 



The boys who report working in stores often mean doing odd jobs, 
clerking during the rush hours, running errands, sweeping, etc. Some 
of the boys are working as regular clerks in the rush hours of the 
afternoon and on Saturday. In addition to this large group of boys 
who are doing store and office work, there are 48 boys in De Witt 
Clinton and 14 in Eastern District high schools who are working as 
order and delivery boys for small stores, for which they are paid from 
ten to fifteen cents an hour. Sixteen per cent of the working boys in 
De Witt Clinton and 23 per cent in Eastern District are teaching. 
In De Witt Clinton 43 boys, and in Eastern District 35 boys are 
engaged in work with newspapers. Most of the boys are delivering 
papers, but in a few cases they own stands, and two or three of the 
boys are earning comparatively high salaries by inspecting news 
routes. 1 Twenty-five of the boys in De Witt Clinton are working as 
pages in the public libraries of the city, for which they are paid from 
14 to 16 cents an hour, and are required to work from twenty-two to 
thirty-six hours a week. Nine have regular routes in the city, lighting 
arc lights. These boys are paid about 25 cents an hour. Nineteen 
in De Witt Clinton and 2 in Eastern District are playing some instru- 
ment or singing in order to earn their way through school. Several 
play in moving picture houses, others play in orchestras or for dancing 
classes or dances. Others are post-office clerks, chauffeurs, and 
conduct insurance agencies. There are barbers and bellhops, de- 
tectives and preachers, acolytes and lamp lighters. One young man 
rented umbrellas at the subway on rainy days. 

In the case of girls there is not so much opportunity for varied 
employment. Teaching is by far the most popular. Forty-four 
per cent of the girls who are working for wages in Wadleigh and 43 
per cent in Eastern District are engaged in teaching. Twenty-six 
per cent in Wadleigh and 16 per cent in Eastern District are employed 
in stores and offices. Others are waitresses or maids, or "mind 
babies." Of the 124 girls in the two schools who mentioned their 
occupations but 7 were engaged in forms of work other than those 
mentioned above. Three were playing the piano, one was painting 

1 Case No. 17. "Inspector of news deliveries," ten hours a week, salary $14. 

[37 1 



place cards, one had earned a prize through writing a composition, 
and the other through delivering a suffrage speech. 

The Students' Future Plans. — The students who are working for 
wages are fitting into the industrial organization of the city in many 
different ways, and the method by which they have secured their 
work indicates little thought given to their placement. In fact they 
have in most cases gone out and taken the first opportunity open, 
sometimes without giving much consideration to the adequacy of 
the wage paid or the value of the work done. The boys in high school 
have in many cases planned for their future occupation, and an 
attempt was made to ascertain whether there was any relation be- 
tween their present work and their future profession. 

De Witt Clinton High School is an academic high school preparing 
for college. It is to be expected, therefore, that most of the students 
are planning for a college course. Of the 161 students in the group 
studied, 154, or 95 per cent, stated that they were going to some 
higher school on completing their high school work, 3 did not 
answer the question, and 4 stated that they were to enter some 
form of business. The following indicates the future plans of the 
group studied: 



Further school work 154 

College 129 

Night law 1 

Night college 2 

Dental school 6 

Diplomatic and consular course 1 

Library work 1 

Dramatic school 1 

Medicine 6 

Teachers' training school 2 

College after working 2 

Scientific school 1 

Technical school 1 

Art school 1 

Insurance office 1 

Mercantile business 1 

Fire department clerk 1 

Candy and stationery store 1 

No answer 3 



[38] 



A comparison of the plans of the students who are working with 
those who are not working shows no difference in the proportion going 
to college. The fact that a boy is working to support himself does 
not apparently affect his plans for further schooling. This is true 
notwithstanding the fact that 56 per cent of this group of boys were 
found to have been earning wages at some time during the four 
months preceding the study, and 10 stated that they were self-sup- 
porting, while 3 not only supported themselves but supported their 
families either wholly or in part. 

Relation of Outside Work to Future Occupation. — An examination 
of the reports of the boys on their plans after leaving high school indi- 
cates that in most cases there can be little connection between the 
work they are at present doing and the work they intend doing in 
later life. This does not necessarily condemn all the work they are 
doing, for in many cases there must be considerable value to the boy 
in the contacts he is making through his business. However, thought 
and time placed on each boy as a separate problem would result in 
opportunities for work where the experience would be more valuable 
than in the present chance employment, and at the same time the 
remunerative advantage which is often the only one at present, would 
be retained. 

Each boy in the group of 161 in De Witt Clinton High School was 
asked whether there was any connection between the work he was 
doing outside of school hours and the work he was planning to do in 
later life. On the questionnaire which was given him to fill out 
during the interview, was the following: 

Is the work you are doing outside of school 

Of no help in what you intend doing after you leave high school? 

The same kind of work you expect to enter later? 

Somewhat like the work you will enter? 

If it will help your future work in some other way, what is that way? 

It was hoped through this question to find out whether there was any 
feeling on the part of the boys that their work was of educational 
value to them from the standpoint of their life work. Many of the 
boys did not express any opinion regarding the value of their work. 

139 1 



There were, however, 42 boys who indicated that they felt that outside 
work while in school was of no help to them in the work they looked 
forward to as a life profession. Ten felt that their present work had 
some bearing on their life work; and 4 stated that there was a definite 
relation. But 6.6 per cent of the students reporting, or 3.3 per cent 
of all who were working for money, saw a definite relation between the 
work on which they were spending so much of their time and the work 
which they had chosen as a life profession, while 71 per cent of those 
reporting, or 35 per cent of the boys who were working for wages, 
stated that there was no such relation. Fifty-one per cent of the 
students did not answer the question. 1 

As an additional indication of the bearing of the work the boy was 
doing on his life work the boys' cases were gone over one by one, the 
work the boy was doing outside of school hours considered in connec- 
tion with what he was planning to do, and an opinion registered as to 
whether with the little data at hand there was any relation to be seen 
between the work being done and the work the boy stated he was 
planning to do. This judgment was personal, and in many cases the 
data were insufficient to make a satisfactory decision. Some of the 
cases were very simple. One boy who is going to a dental college is 
inspecting paper routes; another boy who is planning on a college 
education spends his free time delivering dress suits for an establish- 
ment which rents them out by the night. Another boy peddles candy 
in a theater and is planning to attend college. A boy who spends his 
summers as a dining-car waiter is to study dentistry, and a boy who is 
clerking in a candy store is going into medicine. On the other hand, 
one of the boys planning to become a doctor is working in a doctor's 
office. Of the cases in which data were furnished by the boys, 99, or 
88 per cent, seemed to show no relation between the part-time work 
and the boy's probable future, 3 per cent indicated a definite relation, 
and in 9 per cent, or 11 cases, there was a possible relation. 



1 Of 91 boys who were working for wages 45 answered the question, 32 con- 
sidered the work of no help, 3 the same kind, and 10 somewhat like the work they 
expect to enter later. Of 28 boys who were working without wages, 10 considered 
the work of no help, 1 the same kind (engaged in his mother's fur store), and 17 did 
not answer the question. 

[401 



Summary 

The chances that a student in De Witt Clinton High School is working 
for money are between one in three and one in two. If he has no 
remunerative position the chances are from one in three to one in four 
that he is working at home. 

If he works he probably comes from a poorer family than the boy 
who does not work. The chances are from one in four to one in three 
that if he is working he is supporting himself. He may be supporting 
his family in exceptional cases. He lives in an apartment of about 
five rooms in size. If he works ten hours or longer a week the chances 
are that his apartment is a whole room smaller than apartments of 
boys who do not work. There is less chance that his father owns his 
own business. There is more chance that he was born abroad, and 
that his older sisters have had considerable less educational oppor- 
tunity than is the case where boys are not working. This is not as 
true of older brothers. His family pays about $22 a month for its 
apartment, which is $12 less than families of non-working boys are 
paying. 

From the standpoint of the position we have a boy from sixteen to 
seventeen years of age earning about $2.50 a week and working 
twelve hours a week. He has considerably less time for recreation 
than the boy who does not work, sacrificing not only opportunities 
to attend the "movies" and theaters but also outdoor sports of an 
athletic character. 

The value of the work done is shown in part by the haphazard way 
in which it is secured. Asking friends or calling on employers are 
methods frequently used. The most popular kind of work is in stores 
or offices, though many boys are selling newspapers and teaching. 
It is very probable that in spite of the efforts the working boy has to 
make to remain in school, he is planning on going to college. In view 
of his future plans it would seem that the work he is at present doing 
has its chief value in supplying him with funds. He admits in most 
cases that his "job" has no relation to the thing he wishes later to do. 



41 



CHAPTER III 
THE SCHOOL AND THE SELF-SUPPORTING BOY 

The immediate task before the school regarding the working boy is to 
determine whether he can or cannot do his school work. To some 
of those interested in the problem, the marks the working boy is given 
furnish a basis for condemning or approving employment outside of 
school hours. Several investigations along these lines have been made 
by teachers having as their main purpose to determine whether work- 
ing boys are doing their school tasks as well as the non-working 
group. In interviews with teachers this same question was raised. 
On the part of some, opposition to the co-operative system was based 
on a belief that with but half time in school the required school work 
could not be covered. 

Other interests which the school has in the boy who must work are 
the amount of elimination among working boys as compared with 
boys who do not work, and the punctuality and regularity in attend- 
ance of the self-supporting group. 

School Marks 

In the original questionnaire, a copy of which will be found in the 
appendix, students were requested to give their most recent school 
marks in certain subjects. In order to determine the value of this 
data from 5,973 students, its reliability was tested in the following 
manner: In the interviews with 161 De Witt Clinton boys a request 
was made that they give the last mark they had received in the sub- 
jects indicated. This was soon after the midyear marks had been 
received. These marks were compared with the marks on the perma- 
nent record card on file in the office of the school. Some of the 161 

[42] 



boys neglected to state their marks, and the permanent record cards 
of others were not to be found. There were, however, 122 students 
who reported and whose cards were examined to test the accuracy of 
the information furnished. Of these 122 students 

46 had reported the same or within 5 of the same mark as recorded 

on the permanent record card. 
70 had reported failures as passing. 
8 had reported passing marks as failures. Five of these had in 

addition reported failures as passing. 

There were so many inaccuracies in these marks as reported by the 
students that no use was made of the material. 

Marks for 122 students had been secured from the permanent 
record card. Of these students 52 were not working, 22 of whom, 
or 42 per cent, had failed in at least one subject; 4, or 8 per cent, had 
failed in two, and 3, or 5 per cent, in three subjects. Of 70 who were 
working at the time the investigation was made 25, or 36 per cent, 
had failed in at least one subject the previous term; 8, or 11 per cent, 
in two subjects, and 4, or 6 per cent, in three subjects. 

According to the grades the students themselves gave, of the 52 
students not working 10 had failed, one in two subjects; and of the 
70 working only 5 had failed, one in three subjects. 

The table below is intended to show the relation between failures 
in school work and number of hours per week employed. The base 
line indicates the number of hours per week worked. The letter 
"P" means that the student working the number of hours indicated 
on the base line had not failed. "F" means that he failed in one 
subject, and a "2" or a "3" above the "F" indicates that he failed 
two or three times. The median number of hours per week worked 
by these boys was 17. Among the 35 boys working more than seven- 
teen hours, 12 reported 22 failures. Of the 35 boys working less than 
seventeen hours per week, 13 reported 19 failures. 

The Pearson coefficient of correlation of averages of boys working 
for wages and number of hours worked is .16; of averages of boys 
working without wages and number of hours worked is .07. 

[43] 









F 3 


F 






F 








P 




P F 2 


P 






P 


F 


P 




P 


P 


P F 


P 






P 


F 


P P 


F 2 


P 


P 


P P 


P 


P 


F 2 


F 


F 


F 2 P 


1 


2 


3 


4 5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


10 


11 12 


P 




















P 




















P 






P 














P 






P 














P 

F 3 




P 


JT2 

p 






JP2 


F2 






P 


F 


F 


F 




F 


F 3 


P 




P P 



p 

F 
P 
P F 
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 



PPPPF 2 PPP 

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 32 33 34 37 41 42 46 48 63 

In the study made in the spring of 1917 in De Witt Clinton High 
School, 1 special attention was paid to the effect on scholarship of 
work done outside of school hours. This study showed that those 
who work have almost uniformly a better scholarship record than 
those who do not, a lower average of failures and a higher average of 
marks above 80 per cent and above 90 per cent. 



Boys Who Worked 



No. IN 
Group 


Failures 
per Pupil 


3,046 
1,437 


.707 
.625 


159 


.679 


527 


.559 


110 


.800 


142 


.478 


134 


.529 


151 


.649 


214 


.799 



No. Marks 
Above 80 
per Pupil 



No. Marks 
Above 90 
per Pupil 



During no part of year 

During some part of year for money 
During less than half of summer 

only 

During more than half of summer 

only 

During school but only on Saturday 

or Sunday 

On school days but less than 20 school 

weeks and less than 20 hours a week 
On school days more than 20 school 

weeks and less than 20 hours a 

week 

On school days but less than 20 weeks 

and more than 20 hours a week .... 
On school days for more than 20 

weeks and more than 20 hours a 

week 



1.061 
1.152 

1.075 

1.278 

1.261 

1.183 

1,179 
1.063 

1.039 



.331 
.369 

.299 

.445 

.409 

.422 

.350 

.298 

.247 



The data furnished by this study indicate that boys who are 
working are doing as well in school work as boys who are not working, 



Made by Mr. Delaney. 



44 



better, in fact, except for the group working more than twenty hours 
a week for more than twenty school weeks a year. 

The data for the small group of 70 if used in the form which was the 
base of the De Witt Clinton study cited, would show a similar result : 

Thirty boys working over twenty hours registered 20 failures; 40 
boys working less than twenty hours registered but 21 failures. How- 
ever, as a matter of fact only 10 of the 30 boys working over twenty 
hours a week had failed in a subject, whereas 15 of the 40 boys working 
under twenty hours a week had failed in subjects. 

It may therefore be that the .799 failures per pupil, the 1.039 marks 
above 80, and the .247 above 90 among the students giving the most 
time to work are caused by a very small group which has done excep- 
tionally poor work. If this be true as it is in the case of the smaller 
group studied, the investigation made in De Witt Clinton in 1917 
does not indicate that students who work even twenty hours or longer 
for more than twenty weeks are handicapped in their school work 
except in a comparatively few cases. The data from which the study 
was made is not in shape to permit this to be verified. 

There is no great difference in the marks which students working 
and students not working receive. Care must be exercised in drawing 
conclusions from these facts. There are a number of factors to be 
considered. The boys who are working average a year older than the 
boys who are not working. 1 Many of them are in the higher grades. 
There is more elimination among the working boys than among the 
non-working, in so far as the groups studied in the following section 
are concerned. The working group may be the result of selection of 
those working students most able to do their class-room work and the 
elimination of most of those unable to carry their school work. 

1 The 2,267 boys who were not working for wages at the time the first study was 
made had a median age of fifteen, while the 369 boys who were working had a 
median age of sixteen. One-half of the boys who were not working were between 
fifteen and sixteen, while one-half of the boys who were working were between 
sixteen and seventeen. Nineteen per cent of the boys over fifteen years of age, 
and but 9 per cent of the boys fifteen and under, were working for wages. Of the 
small group of boys studied in De Witt Clinton High School, 62 per cent of those 
who were over fifteen years of age had been earning money during the four months 
preceding the study, while but 19 per cent of those fifteen years and younger had 

[45 1 



Elimination of Working Boys 

In order to determine whether there was more elimination from school 
in the group of boys who work than in the group who do not work, 
two groups of 50 boys each were selected from the students studied 
in De Witt Clinton High School in February, 1915. In one group 
were placed only boys who during the week studied in 1915 were 
earning money, and in the other group were placed boys who during 
that week were not at work. The groups were the result of a chance 
selection. No attempt was made to include students who were in a 
certain grade or who were doing the same kind of work. 



been receiving remuneration. The following table shows the age of boys and 
the per cent of each group working for money: 



Age 


De Witt Clinton High School 
One Week 


De Witt Clinton High School 
Foub Months Pkeceding Study 


Number for 
Wages 


Per Cent Work- 
ing for Wages 


Number for 
Wages 


Per Cent Work- 
ing for Wages 


13 


113 

458 

749 

637 

422 

160 

51 

13 

5 


7 
7 
10 
15 
29 
36 
26 
54 
60 


2 
10 
25 
50 
42 
22 
8 
1 





14 





15 


28 


16 


54 


17 


57 


18 


73 


19 


100 


20 


100 


21 









More of the older boys are working ten hours or more per week than the younger 
ones. Of the 255 boys over fifteen who are working, 163, or 64 per cent, are 
working ten hours or more a week, while but 44 per cent of the boys fifteen and 
under who are working are devoting such long hours to their work. 

Classifying the boys by semesters as in the following table, the boys in the 
more advanced classes are shown to be working to a greater extent than those in 
the lower classes. 



Semester 


Number of Boys in 
Semester 


Per Cent Working 


II 


404 
479 
498 
366 
311 
284 
193 


11 


Ill 

IV 

V 

VI 


12 

10 
14 
16 


VII 


19 


VIII 


20 







46 



The next step was to find whether these boys were still in attendance 
in February, 1916, a year after the first investigation had been made. 
The records at De Witt Clinton High School showed that of each 
group two students had graduated, and that one of the boys in the 
non-working group had been transferred to Chicago. In the group 
of 50 non-working boys at the time of the investigation in 1915, 36 
were still students in De Witt Clinton High School. Of the 50 boys 
who had been at work the previous year 32 remained in the high school, 
16 of the boys working, and 11 of the boys who were not working 
were not registered in De Witt Clinton High School in February, 
1916, and had left school without being transferred or graduated. 

For some reason 5 of these boys' names do not appear either in the 
present records or in the files of eliminated pupils. It is possible that 
these records have been misplaced or that they have given the wrong 
names. The probability is that the absence of their names in the 
lists indicated that they had been dropped. Three of them were boys 
who were at work in 1915 and two were boys who were not at work. 
The fact that they were divided between the two groups would hardly 
change the results. Elimination then, so far as this group is con- 
cerned, is somewhat greater among boys who work than among boys 
who do not. 

A similar random selection was made of one hundred students from 
Eastern District High School, Brooklyn. All of these were students 
who had been included in the study made the year before. Half 
reported themselves as working during the week in 1915 when the 
study was made. 

An investigation was then made to see whether these students were 
still in school or not. The results are indicated below. 





De Witt Clinton 


Eastern District 




Working 


Not Working 


Working 


Not Working 


Still in school 


32 

2 

16 


36 

3 

11 


26 
11 
13 


37 


Transferred or graduated 

Eliminated 


5 

8 







[47] 



In Eastern District, too, there would seem to be a larger elimination 
from the working group than from the group that is not at work. 

It is probable that several factors enter into this result. The long 
hours many of the boys work must tend to discourage them in their 
efforts to attend school. Then, it is doubtless true that positions 
secured open up full-time positions and offer opportunities for boys 
to leave school and enter industry. 1 The need for funds to assist the 
boy in attending school must often become greater and require him 
to give all his time to his position. 

Tardiness and Absence 

In comparing the regularity of attendance and punctuality of working 
boys and non-working boys during one semester, only those students 
are considered in the working group who were employed on school 
days. Boys who were working on Saturdays or on but one or two 
school days a week are not considered. In the non-working group are 
all boys who were not working during the school term regardless of 
whether they were employed during vacation or not. 

The school is directly concerned with the regularity of attendance 
and punctuality of the student, just as it is with the amount of 
elimination and the ability to do the school work assigned. The 
long hours devoted to outside activities by students would seem to 
increase the amount of tardiness and absence. However, in so far 
as the small group studied is an indication of the effect of outside work, 
there is but little difference in the working and the non-working 
groups. 

A separation of the working group into those who are working for 
wages and those who are working without wages reveals considerable 
more absence and tardiness among those students who are working 
for wages. These averaged one more absence and twice as many 



1 In Superintendent Maxwell's letter to high school principals on June 8, 1917, 
referred to in Chapter V of this study, the plan proposed for placing students dur- 
ing the summer is said to be open to the above criticism, and he states that "the 
danger of pupils not returning to school at the end of the summer will be reduced 
to a minimum, as the department will be in touch with the pupils and the 
employer." 

[48 1 





In One Semester Number op Times 




Absent 


Tardy 




Average 


Median 


Average 


Size of Group 


Working boys 


7.2 
6.66 

7.6 
6.57 


7 
6 


1.12 

.77 

1.66 
.26 


49 


Non-working boys 


53 


Of the working boys, those 
With wages 


30 


Without wages 


19 







cases of tardiness as the non-working group. The boy who is working 
for wages, even though he may be giving no more hours to his work than 
the boy who is helping at home without remuneration, is a greater prob- 
lem from the standpoint of the teacher. This somewhat greater irregu- 
larity in school attendance and punctuality is due probably to the 
fact that the boy working for wages is required to work during fixed 
hours, and is employed in work which frequently takes more of his 
energy and gives him less time to study his school lessons. 



49 



CHAPTER IV 
CO-OPERATIVE WORK 

By co-operative work is meant the system at present in operation in a 
number of the New York City high schools by which certain students, 
who are taking vocational courses, work in pairs alternating between 
school and position. Generally one student spends a week in school 
while his comrade is working in the office or shop. At the end of the 
week the two students change places, the student in the shop return- 
ing to school and his place being filled by the student who has had a 
week in school. Positions for students in factories, shops, and offices 
are found by the co-ordinator, a special teacher in each high school. 
The selection of the student to fill a position is also made under his 
direction, and careful supervision of the student's work is a part of 
the co-ordinator's duty. The employment is more or less related 
to the class-room work. 

In the Seventeenth annual report of the city superintendent of 
schools for 1914-15 in the section on part-time co-operative and con- 
tinuation classes, Associate City Superintendent John H. Haaren 
closes his part of the report with his conclusions under ten headings. 
The following seemed of special importance from the standpoint of 
the present study : 

The experience of less than a year with the co-operative system 
seems to prove the following : 

6. That the time spent by co-operative students in employment 
does not necessarily prolong the period of high school attend- 
ance for graduation. 

7. That the plan provides a means by which pupils who would 
otherwise have to leave high school may continue their educa- 
tion. 

9. That the student is keener and more alert in his school work 
after entering upon the co-operative course. 

[50] 



It was with these statements in mind that an investigation was 
made of the boys and girls in certain co-operative classes in New 
York City. This part of the study needs, however, to be prefaced 
by a statement of the limitations to which the data presented are 
subject. 

The marks which have been secured from the two high schools 
studied indicate that there has been no marked failure on the part 
of these co-operative students to do their class-room work. How- 
ever, the following points should be kept in mind as bearing on this 
conclusion: 

A. Actual co-operation between the firms and the school began 
February 8, 1915, and the present study covered but a com- 
paratively small group of students who were in the first class. 
The limited amount of data therefore lessens the value of the 
conclusions drawn. 

B. The co-ordinators with whom the writer worked were an 
enthusiastic group of teachers anxious to have their new work 
a success and definitely committed to emphazing the most 
favorable side of it. There were advocates of the system among 
the teachers interviewed. In other cases teachers were seen 
who had condemned the system before a fair experiment was 
possible. Under these circumstances it is recognized that 
impressions secured through interviews were not very reliable. 

C. As a result of this it was difficult to ascertain whether the 
school work done by the group of co-operative students was 
actually the same or approximately the same as that done by 
the non-co-operating students. Teachers and co-ordinators in- 
terviewed in almost every case asserted that it was the same, 
and that the students in co-operative work were given longer 
lessons during the week in school than others or that they 
made up more work outside of school. Marks on the school 
registers were given, in most cases, by the same teacher who 
was marking the full-time students. 

D. The lack of any means of comparing the relative ability of 
students before entering the co-operative course or after 
finishing it, other than the marks given by the teacher, is a 
weakness. Marks at best are poor indications of achievement. 

[51] 



In this case the person marking realized that a new system 
was being tried. He was predisposed frequently to favor or 
oppose the system. Therefore even less reliability may be 
placed on these marks than ordinary school marks. 

These studies of co-operative students were made in Bushwick 
and Washington Irving high schools. In these two schools the 
co-operative students studied were doing practically the same work 
expected of full-time students. The data secured from these two 
schools are significant in the present study of the self-support- 
ing student in high schools. In the first place the co-operative 
system is in many instances a solution of the problem of self- 
support. 1 In Bushwick High School the co-ordinator mentioned 
this fact as one of the criteria on which he based his selection of 
students. In the report on part-time co-operative and continua- 
tion schools for 1915, New York City, the co-operative course is 
described as valuable in part because "it helps to solve what- 
ever financial difficulties the student may meet in his high school 
course." 

Mr. Charles M. Smith, co-ordinator in Newtown High School, states 
that the course has been of great value "in encouraging the student 
of limited financial circumstances to continue his school work. More 
than one-fourth of our co-operative students are staying in" school on 
account of the financial assistance they are now able to furnish for the 
support of their families." 2 

And again, the effect of co-operative work on school marks where 
half-time students are doing full-time work, is indicative of the degree 
to which self-supporting students are handicapped in their school 



1 Occasionally a student finds that the wages received from co-operative work 
are not sufficient to meet his needs and therefore he continues in the regular course 
working outside school hours. The following case illustrates this: Abraham S. 
is working in a newspaper office from 5 p.m. to 12 p.m. each school day, and from 
9 a.m. to midnight Sundays. He receives $10 a week. He is graduating at the 
head of his class from a commercial course. When asked why he has not entered 
the co-operative class in his school he stated that he could not afford to, as the 
co-operative students earned but $8.00 every other week. 

2 The Report on Continuation and Part Time Co-operative Classes in New 
York City for the year 1915-16, p. 99. 

[52 1 



work. For both there is a curtailment of home study. The self- 
supporting student, the chief interest of this investigation, has even 
more time for school work as a rule than the co-operative student. 
The median number of hours which full-time students worked each 
week for wages was in the case of boys in De Witt Clinton High School 
twelve; seven in Eastern District High School; for girls in Eastern 
District High School six, and in Wadleigh four and a half hours. 
The co-operative student, on the other hand, works regular factory 
or office hours. This would mean a minimum of thirty-nine hours a 
week; or, as he is employed every other week, nineteen and one-half 
hours a week. If the co-operative student's work is not seriously 
affected by half time spent out of school, it may be inferred that con- 
siderable time may be devoted to work outside school hours by a 
full-time student without seriously interfering with his school marks. 
The factory or office work which co-operative students do has been 
selected both with regard to their future work and the school course. 
The co-operative student is, therefore, employed in outside work 
which should make his school work much more vital. In the ap- 
pendix are statements from girls in Washington Irving High School 
giving their opinion of the co-operative course and a brief outline of 
the experience they gained. A description of the work which girls 
in the commercial course were given in offices is also added. 

While the carefully selected outside work of co-operative students 
is much more liable to motivate school work than is true in the case 
of self-supporting non-co-operative students, still it should be remem- 
bered that the latter group attends all class recitations, and that the 
co-operative student is able to attend but half his recitations. It is 
also true in many cases that students willing to make the sacrifices 
which earning their way through school implies, see, or imagine they 
see, a real reason for attending school. Ninety-five per cent of a 
group of students studied in De Witt Clinton High School are plan- 
ning on further education for which the high school course is direct 
preparation. 

The study of co-operative work in Bushwick High School covers a 
class of 79 girls in the commercial course, of whom 41 had been doing 

[ 53 ] 



half-time school work in the co-operative system. In Washington 
Irving High School 140 girls in the German commercial course were 
studied, 60 of whom were giving every other week to office work. 



Bushwick High School, Brooklyn 
Seventy-nine girls in the commercial course of the Bushwick High 
School, Brooklyn, were studied in the spring of 1916. Forty-one had 
spent the semester previous to the investigation, the fall of 1915, in 
half-time work in school on the co-operative plan, the rest of the time 
being devoted to work in some business office. The other 38 girls 
were full-time students of the school, and both groups were doing 
practically the same academic work under the same teachers. 

The school marks for these girls during the semester, September, 
1915, to February, 1916, when part were in the co-operative system, 
were secured. These marks in the case of each student in the group 
were compared with the marks given the same student the semester 
before, to determine whether they were lower, the same, or higher. 1 
They were also compared with the average of the marks given the 
student the three preceding semesters before any of the girls had 
entered the co-operative plan. In the first table the comparison is 
made with the marks given the preceding semester when all the stu- 
dents were on full time. The first column under each subject indi- 
cates the percentage of non-co-operative students whose grades were 
less, the same, or more than the preceding semester. The same facts 
are shown for the co-operative students in the second column. 



1 The Pearson co-efficients of correlation between marks given students before 
the introduction of co-operative work and the term after its introduction are as 
follows: 





Co-ops. 


Non- 
Co-ops. 




Co-ops. 


Non- 
Co-ops. 


English 


.39 
.07 
.21 


.60 
.38 
.50 


Typewriting 

Geography and Law . . 


.02 
.17 


.30 


Stenography 


.65 







[54] 



English 


Bookkeeping 


Stenography 


Typewriting 


Commercial 

Geography and 

Law 


Non- 
co-ops. 


Co-ops. 


Non- 
co-ops. 


Co-ops. 


Non- 
co-ops. 


Co-ops. 


Non- 
co-ops. 


Co-ops. 


Non- 
co-ops. 


Co-ops. 


-48 
30 

+22 


17 

27 
56 


30 
10 
60 


46 

5 

49 


57 

8 

35 


68 
15 
17 


48 
22 
30 


34 
12 
54 


42 

8 

50 


34 
10 

56 



The second table is similar to the preceding except that each stu- 
dent's grades are compared with the average the same student re- 
ceived in the subject the three preceding semesters. As in the first 
table the percentage of non-co-operative students is shown in the first 
column, while the second column indicates the percentages of co- 
operative students. 



English 


Bookkeeping 


Stenography 


Typewriting 


Commercial 

Geography and 

Law 


Non- 
co-ops. 


Co-ops. 


Non- 
co-ops. 


Co-ops. 


Non- 
co-ops. 


Co-ops. 


Non- 
co-ops. 


Co-ops. 


Non- 
co-ops. 


Co-ops. 


-72 
3 
+25 


29 
10 
61 


37 

3 

60 


64 

2 

34 


52 

5 

43 


76 

5 

19 


62 
13 
25 


51 
10 
39 


52 

5 

43 


49 

5 

46 



The first table shows that in the three subjects — English, type- 
writing, and commercial geography and law — a somewhat larger pro- 
portion of the co-operative girls than of the non-co-operative was 
given higher grades than in the same subjects the previous term. 
The second table indicates the same to be true of the co-operative 
girls when the average of the three previous semesters is taken instead 
of the grade for the preceding semester alone. In both tables in 
these three subjects a larger percentage of non-co-operative girls re- 
ceives a lower mark. 

In bookkeeping and stenography the co-operative girls compare 
unfavorably with the non-co-operatives. In both of these subjects 
students in school all of the time, the non-co-operative group, have 
done better work in so far as these marks measure achievement. 

[55] 



This is true in both the first and second table. The co-ordinator in 
Bushwick High School who is in charge of the co-operative work, 
explains the results as due to the fact that in bookkeeping during the 
sixth semester, the one in which co-operative work was introduced, 
the course requires little work during the school period, but makes 
heavy demands on the student's time outside of school hours. This 
larger amount of home work handicaps the girl who is giving every 
other week to an office position with the long hours required of her 
there. The stenography course in which non-co-operative students 
have apparently been more successful than co-operative students, 
is said by the co-ordinator to be the most difficult subject which the 
girls study. There is not much home work in this subject. Class 
dictation exercises form the principal part of the work. The students 
are given marks in stenography on the basis of the number of perfect 
transcriptions made from these class exercises. In this subject where 
class practise is of so great importance, students who have but half 
of the class periods are apparently somewhat handicapped. 

In view of the fact that the girls who were on half time were doing 
work which seemed to be better than the work which students on 
full time were doing in three of the five subjects studied, the question 
was raised as to the relative ability of the two groups, the co-operative 
and the non-co-operative, when they were in school together as full- 
time students. The marks given these girls when they were all on 
full time were examined for the preceding semester and for the three 
preceding semesters. In each of the five subjects the results indicate 
that the students who were later to go into co-operative classes were 
given somewhat lower marks by the teachers than the students who 
were to continue on full-time work. The co-ordinator in Bushwick 
High School asserts that there had been no conscious attempt to 
select girls for co-operative work who were doing poorer work in class. 
He had had three criteria in choosing the girls who are to go into 
offices alternate weeks during their last semester in school. They 
must show improvement in their school work; they must have an 
attractive personality; thirdly, when a girl is unable to remain in 
school because of lack of necessary funds, she is given an opportunity 

[56] 



to do co-operative work and thus become in part self-supporting. The 
first of these three grounds for selecting co-operative students is the 
one least emphasized. 

In Bushwick High School students who were selected to enter the 
co-operative course had not been receiving quite as high school marks 
as those who remained in school full time. After a semester of half- 
time work these co-operative students in English and typewriting 
did better school work than the non-co-operative students, and in 
commercial law and geography about as good work. 

For the purpose of this study the only conclusion which it is desired 
to draw from the data is that in so far as this small group of girls is 
concerned, there is reason to believe that the co-operative system 
with but half time devoted to school work, has not seriously interfered 
with the students' success as measured by school marks. 1 

Washington Irving High School, New York 
In Washington Irving High School there were in the senior class 
graduated in February, 1916, of the German commercial course, 60 
girls who devoted alternate weeks to office work and to school work, 
on the co-operative plan. Most of the office work was done in the 
Board of Education Building, 59th Street and Park Avenue. 2 There 
was no compensation for this work. The Civil Service Commission 
does not as yet provide positions for students in co-operative courses. 
The girls were securing actual office experience of a kind which the 
school itself could not give. These 60 girls were doing co-operative 
work just as was the group in Bushwick High School, although the 

1 The following figures indicate that the classes in Bushwick High School com- 
mercial course at present are additional evidence of the above statement. Class VI 
in three sections is graduating in June, 1917. Class V in four sections is to graduate 
in February, 1918. The data are for the week ending April 20, 1917. 

VI F Co-operative 7 per cent of failures 

VIG Full time 11 

VIH Full time 14 

V G Co-operative 5 

VH Full time 14 

VI Fulltime 10 

VJ FuUtime 14 

For a description of some of this work see appendix. 

[57] 



clerical group was not receiving wages for its work. In this course, 
part of the students were giving full time to school work and part 
were giving half time. There were 80 girls who were spending all 
their time on academic and technical school work. These 80 girls on full 
time and the 60 girls on half time were both doing the same school work. 
The first problem was to ascertain to what extent the two groups 
were equal in ability. It might be that only the brightest girls had 
been chosen to do co-operative work, or on the other hand, only the 
poorer girls, as seems to have been the tendency in Bushwick. For 
this purpose the grades given by the instructors for the semester 
ending June, 1915, in German, English, bookkeeping and stenography- 
typewriting were secured. During the semester covered by these 
grades none of the girls was at work. They were all devoting full 
time to the high school work, and the division into co-operatives and 
non-co-operatives had not been made. It will be seen from these 
tables (I and II) that the girls later to become co-operative students 
were a little superior to the girls who were to continue in school all 
the time. The median grade for the co-operative students in each 
subject is somewhat higher than the median grade for the non-co- 
operative group. The difference is not great except in stenography- 
typewriting and in each group there are a number of good students. 
The first column in Tables I and II indicates the girls later to become 
co-operative students; the second column the girls who were to remain 
on full time in school. 



TABLE I.— GERMAN COMMERCIAL COURSE, JUNE, 1915. 
WASHINGTON IRVING HIGH SCHOOL 





English 


German 


Bookkeeping 


Stenography- 
Ttpewriting 






Non-co- 




Non-co- 












Co-opa. 


ops. 


Co-ops. 


ops. 


Co-ops. 


ops. 


Co-ops. 


ops. 


1st quartile 


70 


65 


65 


65 


65 


65 


70 


60 


Median . . 


75 


72 


72 


70 


72 


70 


75 


68 


3rd quartile 


80 


80 


80 


80 


80 


75 


85 


75 


Average. . 


74.72 


73.36 


74.3 


72.4 


71.9 


70.7 


76.1 


68.1 


Av. D from 


















median . . 


8.57 


9.5 


8.5 


9.9 


8.4 


9.3 


8.5 


6.7 



[58] 



TABLE II.— PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS IN EACH SUBJECT IN THE 

GERMAN COMMERCIAL COURSE JUNE, 1915, RECEIVING A 

GRADE BELOW 70, 70 TO 80, ABOVE 80 





English 


German 


BOOKKEEPING 


Stenography- 
Typewriting 




Co-op. 


Non-co- 
op. 


Co-op. 


Non-co- 
op. 


Co-op. 


Non-co- 
op. 


Co-op. 


Non-co- 
op. 


70- 


22 


32 


37 


40 


33 


40 


22 


51 


70-80 


41 


31 


28 


28 


39 


38 


38 


31 


80- 


37 


37 


35 


32 


28 


22 


40 


18 



In German and bookkeeping in Table II there was a little difference 
in the two groups in favor of the co-operatives. In English 37 per 
cent of each group were above 80. In stenography and typewriting 
the difference is much more noticeable. But 18 per cent of the non- 
co-operatives were above 80 in their grades the semester previous to 
the opening of the co-operative plan. Of the co-operatives, 40 per 
cent were above 80. Apparently there was a conscious effort to pick 
out the good students in stenography and typewriting in selecting the 
girls who were to do co-operative work. This is also indicated by the 
difference in the median grades as shown in Table I. The non- 
co-operative group had a median grade in stenography and type- 
writing of 68; the co-operative group a median grade of 75. There 
were, however, even in the stenography and typewriting group a 
number of bright pupils who did not elect co-operative work. 

That the co-operative students at the time the clas,s was formed 
were somewhat better than the non-co-operative students as indicated 
by their grades is also shown by averaging the grades for each of the 
girls in English, German, bookkeeping, stenography-typewriting for 
the semester ending June, 1915. These averages were divided into 
quartiles with the result shown in Table III. 

Sixty per cent of the girls to become co-operatives were in the upper 
half of the class as compared with 41 per cent of the non-co-operatives. 

Admitting then that the two sections were not absolutely equal and 
that the co-operative group was a little better in German, English, 
and bookkeeping, and considerably better in stenography-type- 

[59] 



TABLE III— AVERAGE OF GRADES FOR JUNE, 1915, GERMAN 
COMMERCIAL COURSE, WASHINGTON IRVING HIGH SCHOOL 

Numbers without line — Girls who later became co-operatives. 
Numbers with line beneath — Non-co-operatives. 









70 












70 












70 












70 












70 71 




80 








70 71 




80 




65 




70 71 




80 




65 


68 


70 71 




80 




65 66 


68 


70 71 73 


78 


80 




65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 


78 


80 81 


61 


65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 


77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 


61 


63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 


76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 


54 59 61 


63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 


76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 



92 
54 59 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 





Co-operatives 


Per Cent 


Non- 
Co-operatives 


Per Cent 


Lowest quartile 


9 
15 
19 

17 


15 
25 
32 

28 


26 
20 
15 
17 


33 


2nd quartile 


26 


3rd quartile 


19 


Highest quartile 


22 



writing as shown by the previous tables, let us examine the results 
of the semester's work when 60 of the girls were in school about half 
the time and 80 were in school full time. In order to get an idea of the 
relative standing of these two groups of girls their marks for the 
semester ending June, 1915, when they were all on full time, and for 
the semester ending February, 1916, when part were on half time, 
were compared. 1 Whether the girl received a higher grade, the same 



1 In the German commercial course, Washington Irving High School, the Pear- 
son co-efficients of correlation between the marks given by teachers to pupils in 
June, 1915, when there was no co-operative work, and in February, 1916, when 
part of the girls had been in the co-operative course for a semester are : 





Co-operative 


Non-co-operative 


English 


.38 
.38 
.15 
.22 


.29 


German 


.54 


Bookkeeping 


.50 


Stenography-typewriting 


.52 







60 



grade, or a lower grade than the previous semester was noted. In the 
following table, Table IV, the per cent of the class receiving a lower 
grade, the same grade, or a higher grade for February, 1916, is shown. 

TABLE IV.— PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS RECEIVING LESS, THE 

SAME, OR MORE IN FEBRUARY, 1916, THAN IN JUNE, 1915, 

WHEN ALL WERE NON-CO-OPERATIVE 





English 


German 


Stenography- 
Typewkiting 


Bookkeeping 




Co-op. 


Non-co- 
op. 


Co-op. 


Non-co- 
op. 


Co-op. 


Non-co- 
op. 


Co-op. 


Non-co- 
op. 




+ 


72 
15 
13 


62 
11 
27 


28 
15 
57 


11 
14 
75 


37 
15 

48 


36 
21 
43 


78 

5 

17 


32 

9 

59 



It will be seen from this table that in English and German there 
was some difference in the work of the two groups in favor of the non- 
co-operative students. In bookkeeping, the students on half time 
actually did better than the students on full time. In stenography 
and typewriting there was poorer work done on the part of the co- 
operative group; 78 per cent of the co-operative students received a 
lower mark than the preceding semester, while but 32 per cent of the 
non co-operative students received less. 1 The marks, however, 
do not indicate that the girls on half time, at least in the German 
commercial course at Washington Irving High School, are greatly 
handicapped in their academic work. 

The average for each girl in English, bookkeeping, German and 
stenography-typewriting was secured for the semester ending Febru- 
ary, 1916, when 60 of the girls had been on half time in school. These 
averages were divided into quartiles, and the results are shown in the 
accompanying chart. An examination of these averages shows that 
teachers considered that the girls on full time in school were doing 
better school work than those on part time. It is also evident that 
the girls who were doing the poorest work were full-time girls. Five 



] It is to be remembered that the co-operative girls received higher marks the 
previous semester, and that there was, therefore, more opportunity for the non- 
co-operatives to improve. 

[611 



of them are lowest in the averages secured. There are more marks 
below 60 for girls on full-time work, while but one mark below 60 
is given to a girl on half-time work. Girls on half time are more 
likely to be found in the middle quartiles. Seventy-four per cent of 
the girls who were working on half time are in the two middle quar- 
tiles, while but 40 per cent of the girls on full time are in these two 
quartiles. 

TABLE V.— AVERAGE OF GRADES FOR FEBRUARY, 1916, GERMAN 
COMMERCIAL COURSE, WASHINGTON IRVING HIGH SCHOOL 

Numbers without line — Co-operatives. 
Numbers with lines below — Non-co-operatives. 

71 
68 71 

68 71 

68 69 70 71 73 
68 69 70 71 73 75 
6667686970 717273747576 
6667 68 6970 717273747576 
66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 78 
66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 78 
66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 
65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 
61 62 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 84 
61 62 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 86 





CO-OPEBATIVES 


Pek Cent 


Non-co- 
operatives 


Per Cent 


Lowest quartile 


14 
23 
15 

8 


23 
39 
25 
13 


21 
12 
20 

27 


26 


2nd quartile 


15 


3rd quartile 


25 


Highest quartile 


34 



This may indicate that co-operative work tends to make it im- 
possible for the bright students to do exceptionally good work, but 
that the motive given to school work by contact with a position in 
the industrial life of the community tends to keep the girl with little 
ability from dropping behind her class. These graphs show that at 
least so far as the German commercial course in Washington Irving 

[621 



High School is concerned, there is a tendency on the part of the co- 
operative girls to do little school work meriting either exceptionally- 
high or exceptionally low grades. 

Summary 
The marks co-operative students are given in school do not indicate 
that half time outside of school handicaps their work to a great 
extent. Apparently co-operative work results in students doing 
average school work and tends to eliminate exceptionally good as 
well as exceptionally poor work. This is indicated in the grades for 
Washington Irving commercial course. In Bushwick High School 
this is not so apparent except in the case of stenography and book- 
keeping. The co-operative system is new in New York schools and 
is still the cause of much discussion. It is probable that marks given 
students are unconsciously influenced by the favorable or unfavorable 
attitude of the teacher toward the system. This is truer in certain 
schools than in others. The co-operative system points to a method 
by which schools could provide for part of the students who must 
support themselves, and the marks studied indicate that considerable 
time may be devoted to activities outside the school without ma- 
terially affecting school work. 



[63] 



CHAPTER V 

THE HIGH SCHOOL AND THE STUDENT WHO 
MUST WORK 

That some high schools are aware of the number of students who are 
partially or wholly self-supporting is shown by the investigations they 
have made, some of the results of which are presented in this study. 
In a few cases organized efforts have been made to assist the large 
group of boys and girls who must work while in school. In the 
present chapter the methods used in a Seattle and in a New York 
high school in helping students to find positions will be briefly de- 
scribed, and a plan suggested for the work in New York City high 
schools. 

In the Broadway High School, Seattle, the organization for assisting 
students who must work 1 "consists primarily of a Girls' Club and a 
Boys' Club, each under the supervision of faculty members. The 
Girls' Club adviser has one teacher who gives one period each day to 
the placing of girls who need to work for part school time. In doing 
this she is very careful to get full information about the student who 
needs the place and then makes careful inquiry into the homes de- 
siring girls to work. The Boys' Club follows somewhat the same 
procedure. The head of the commercial department has placed some 
students during the time they are attending school. This work gives 
a closer association with students who need assistance. The com- 
munity is quite ready to co-operate with the school when in need of 
positions for students. By working in co-operation with the pupil, 
school work is not seriously affected; in fact more attention is paid 
to these pupils and their school work because of a knowledge of their 
condition and need of assistance." 

Two cards are kept in the Girls' Club. One contains the result of 
the investigation of the position for which a girl is wanted. Ques- 



From a letter describing the work in Broadway High School, Seattle. 

[64 1 



tions are asked as to whether the employe is to eat with the family, 
number of hours required on school days, Saturdays and Sundays, 
religion, arrangements for outdoor exercise, and the kind of room to be 
given the girl. In addition, the employer is asked to furnish refer- 
ences. The other, the permanent card kept for the girl, contains 
together with her school record, a statement as to whether she is 
self-supporting, her employment record, personal appearance, re- 
liability, and character. 

De Witt Clinton High School is organizing an employment office 
as part of the Students' General Organization where part-time posi- 
tions can be found for students. For several years there has been 
interest in this school in the problem of the boy who has to work while 
attending school and at least three attempts have been made to 
ascertain the size of the problem. In the spring of 1917 one of the 
instructors was assigned to the task of organizing the placement 
bureau. He was not relieved of his academic classes, and what has 
been accomplished has been done in addition to class work with the 
assistance of two competent students. 

Before Easter, 1917, postals were sent out to milliners and florists 
in which it was stated that boys in the high school were desirous of 
securing work during the Easter holidays. Positions were secured 
for 200 boys as a result of these 400 postals. The salary paid averaged 
$1.50 a day. There have been in addition numerous requests for 
boys to do part-time work since Easter as a result of these postals. 

When a request for help is telephoned De Witt Clinton High 
School, a card is filled out with the firm's name, address, and business. 
The hours required are ascertained, the compensation to be paid, 
and the qualifications demanded of the boys are also entered on this 
card. There is a place for the names of the boys recommended, a 
record as to whether they secure the position or not, and a blank space 
for remarks. 

A second card is filled out giving the location of the firm, hours 
required, nature of work, salary, age applicant must be, and any other 
requirements the employer may have made. These frequently include 
race. This card is posted on the bulletin board. 
5 [65] 



When a boy comes to the office and states that he wants to apply for 
the position he is given a card of introduction to the firm, and to this 
card is attached another which the boy must fill out and return to the 
office, stating the results of his application. 

In addition to a permanent file of firms applying for help, another 
file of names of boys who have secured work is kept. On these cards 
are the boy's name, class, address, and blanks for the names of em- 
ployers with length of employment, salary, reasons for leaving, and a 
permanent record of scholarship. 

Though this plan has opened up many opportunities for boys who 
desire to assist in supporting themselves while attending school, 
there are certain weaknesses in it which are recognized by the school. 
The present plan is better than the former one by which boys fre- 
quently went from store to store looking for work, and took the first 
position which was offered them without the opportunity of securing 
the advice of a representative of the school. Under the present plan 
the teacher in charge of this work interviews and knows the scholar- 
ship standing of those students going out into part-time positions se- 
cured through the office. He is also able to watch the effect which 
outside work has upon scholarship through the permanent record 
card kept for each boy who is working. The teacher in charge of this 
placement work is unable, however, to know many of the boys 
personally. He is teaching his own classes during the day, and has 
but a brief interview with the boys who must work. There is little 
opportunity to ascertain what the home conditions of the boy are or 
to secure further information concerning the position than is given by 
the employer over the telephone. The short interview which the 
boy has with the teacher in charge does present an opportunity for 
a little advice, but such advice is necessarily based on a very limited 
knowledge of the situation. The present plan, however, is a great 
advance over the former in which there was little recognition of the 
working boy's problem. The school now realizes that there is a 
problem to be dealt with, and in the bureau organized has shown an 
interest in dealing with it. 

The problem would seem to be threefold. There is, first and fore- 

f66 1 



most, the welfare of the boy to be considered. Some of the positions 
which high school boys are filling are positions in which they earn less 
than they should for the amount of time they give. In finding part- 
time positions for school boys an important consideration is the 
amount the boy earns. One of the first essentials in placing a high 
school boy in a part-time position would seem to be a study of his home 
to determine to what extent self-support on his part is necessary. If 
the boy has to be absolutely self-supporting, or has to pay his board, 
he must be found a position where the remuneration is sufficient for 
this purpose. The welfare of the boy demands that this fundamental 
need of sufficient income to maintain his standard of living be met. 
If the necessary income cannot be gained from a part-time position, 
and there is no scholarship fund available, it would seem to be the 
duty of the adviser to show the boy the necessity for postponing his 
education until such time as he has sufficient funds unless the co- 
operative classes meet his needs. 

Many boys are giving so much time to their outside work that 
little time for school work and less for recreation remains. There 
is some indication that some boys who work more than twenty hours 
a week are handicapped in their school work, and boys who are em- 
ployed in remunerative positions for more than ten hours a week 
have their recreation cut to about one-half that of the other boys. 
Boys applying for positions should be advised regarding the number 
of hours they are to engage in work outside school. The school 
should also ascertain the number of hours students are working at 
home or in positions they have secured without the help of the school. 
Where it is necessary, students must be told to devote fewer hours to 
outside work. If the school assumes the responsibility for assisting 
boys in finding positions where they may work part time — and it is 
difficult to see how under the present situation in some of the high 
schools in New York City she can avoid this responsibility — then she 
must also be ready to assume responsibility that the boy's health is 
not impaired by excessively long hours. The school cannot justify 
the long hours which some of the boys at present are giving to part- 
time positions. In some cases the remedy is apparent. Where boys 

[67] 



are working long hours and are earning very low wages, the school 
should advise a change in work. 

From the standpoint of the boy there is also the necessity for placing 
him in a part-time position where, in addition to running into no moral 
or physical danger, there may be so far as possible educational value 
along the lines of his vocational interests. Seventy-one per cent of a 
group of high school boys who had found positions for themselves and 
reported, stated that the thing they were doing had no connection 
with what they intended doing in later life. Only 6 per cent of the 
boys answering the question described the work they were doing as 
the same kind of work they intended entering in later life. The 
teacher in charge of the placement work can do much to remedy this 
condition by ascertaining boys' interests and by securing opportunities 
for employment along the lines of these interests. The success of co- 
ordinators in some of the co-operative classes in the high schools of New 
York City is an indication of what might be done in this work in academic 
schools. A position as office boy in a doctor's office might be given 
to a boy who was planning under this arrangement to enter medicine. 

From the standpoint of the school there is the necessity for seeing 
that the boy in his efforts to support himself is not so handicapped 
that he is unable to meet the class requirements. Doubtless through 
the teacher in charge of placement a more sympathetic attitude to- 
ward students who are required to work might be shown by some of 
the class-room teachers than is occasionally the case at present. 
However, the school has a right to expect that outside work shall not 
seriously interfere with the work required of students in school. 
That there is in most cases little danger of this in vocational courses, 
at least, is indicated by the study of the co-operative students in 
Washington Irving High School and in Bushwick High School, and 
by the study of the students in academic courses who are working 
outside of school hours in De Witt Clinton. The greater elimination 
of working boys deserves attention of high school authorities. 

Lastly, from the standpoint of the employer, 1 there are certain 

1 Data are not presented on this point because of the size of the problem and the 
difficulty of securing information. 

[68] 



considerations. He has a right to expect that the school will send 
him a student who is really interested in working. He has a right to 
expect that the boy will give good service for the money received. 
The danger in the present method employed at De Witt Clinton 
High School from the employer's standpoint, is that boys who have 
no real need or intention of earning their way through school may 
see the notices of positions on the bulletin board and apply for them, 
in the hope of securing an easy place where there will be a high re- 
muneration for little effort expended. 

The present system in De Witt Clinton High School fails to meet 
the responsibility which should be felt for the boy's welfare. Under 
the arrangement whereby a teacher giving full time to school work is 
employed to do the placement and advisory work outside of class 
hours, there is no opportunity for ascertaining home conditions of the 
boy, or for consultation with parents to determine to what extent 
self-support is really necessary. The impossibility of knowing the 
boys one has to deal with when so little time can be devoted to the 
work, makes a consideration of the boy's part-time position in the 
light of his future vocation very difficult. Some attention can be 
given to the number of hours required of the boy who is offered a 
position, but little can be done for the boys who are at present at 
work and whose interests demand attention. Under the present 
system it is possible, through the marks given the students in different 
subjects, to note the effect upon his work of part-time employment, 
but there is little time for consultation with teachers and students 
regarding the class-room work. The teacher in charge has no oppor- 
tunity to investigate the position to which the boy is being sent, and 
when the boy applies for the position no more is known regarding 
it than is learned over the telephone. The school cannot feel that 
it has met its responsibility to the employer, a responsibility which 
requires it to send him a student who is actually desirous of working, 
nor is there any possibility of ascertaining later how successful the 
boy has been in his position. 

To provide for a more efficient system of placement work in part- 
time positions would require that practically the entire time of a man 

[691 



or woman in a high school be devoted to the work, with such assist- 
ance as might be needed. He would have the child, the family, the 
teacher, and the employer to deal with. Application for a part- 
time position would in most cases necessitate a study of the home 
and the family of the boy to determine to what extent the boy must 
be self-supporting. Acquaintance with the boy and his teachers would 
indicate what kind of work the boy was fitted for. Interviews with 
the employers before and after the boy secured his position would 
show the kind of position, the type of boy wanted and, later, the 
success of the boy in the position. The teacher could furnish infor- 
mation as to the boy's scholarship. The man in charge of this work 
with students who are at least in part self-supporting, would have a 
position which would be comparable to that of the co-ordinator in a 
co-operative course. The co-ordinator's emphasis is on vocational 
training, though the opportunity for self-support is a factor considered. 
The position in an academic high school would emphasize the oppor- 
tunity for self-support, giving as much consideration as was possible 
to vocational training. 

The general plan of organizing in the academic high school a bureau 
to meet the problem of self-support, in charge of a trained social 
worker and placement secretary, would necessitate inter-high school 
relations to secure maximum efficiency. There is little attempt at 
co-operation between the high schools which at present maintain 
employment secretaries in connection with their vocational courses. 
One school may secure positions formerly held by students in another 
school by providing help at a lower rate per hour. Where there are 
more calls for students to work than there are students desiring to 
work, as was the case in De Witt Clinton High School in the spring 
of 1917, the surplus positions are lost because no arrangement exists 
by which these positions can be turned over to another school. There 
is no provision by which opportunities for work might be given the 
students of the high school nearest the position. 

It would seem possible to develop under the associate superin- 
tendent in charge of part-time co-operative and continuation classes 
under the Department of Education in the City of New York, a 

[70] 



movement to centralize the work with self-supporting students in 
all the high schools of the city. This office already has established 
the necessary relations with industrial and commercial establishments 
for the placing of students in the co-operative courses. The co- 
ordinators are in touch with business conditions and are following 
students in their positions and insuring them the maximum oppor- 
tunity for training. Co-ordinators already have found positions 
which are not available for co-operative students but which might be 
filled by students who desire to work outside of school hours. There is 
no method at present by which these positions and the students who 
must in part support themselves can be brought together. A bureau 
organized in the central office with which the co-ordinators are in 
close contact would make available such positions to high schools 
and would utilize co-ordinators in securing further opportunities for 
high school students to work. 

An experiment has just been started in the office of the associate 
superintendent in charge of part-time co-operative and continuation 
schools to place students for the summer of 1917. The large number 
of men leaving for war service has created a demand for high school 
students to fill positions. A co-ordinator has been appointed to co- 
operate with the high schools, ascertain what opportunities for em- 
ployment exist, and try to fill them. The work is planned for the 
summer only. Superintendent Maxwell addressed a letter to all the 
high school principals requesting that they forward lists of names of 
students desiring to work during the summer. Many applications 
for positions have been received by the co-ordinator in charge. 
During the first week 150 placements were made. 1 There was in each 
case an investigation of the position and an interview with the student 
placed, either through a teacher in the building or through the co- 
ordinator himself. Many of the industrial establishments taking 
students for the summer have been co-operating with the schools 
under the co-operative system. 

A^ continuation of this plan during the school year, with the de- 
velopment of a local bureau in each school, would make possible 

1 Data secured from office in Brooklyn of the Department of Education. 

[71] 



sympathetic, intelligent treatment of the problem of self-support. 
Assurance could be given that a position offered to a student was with 
a reliable firm, where there would be fair treatment and no exploita- 
tion of him because of the necessity he was under of finding remunera- 
tive work outside of school hours. The personal relations which have 
already been established by co-ordinators with employers would be 
an asset in opening opportunities for students outside of school 
hours. A central office force co-operating with the co-ordinators 
could supervise the work of students as is done now in the case of 
co-operative students. Finally, through the local bureau and through 
the central office, there could be very definite co-operation between 
the school, the family, and the employer. 



[72] 



CHAPTER VI 
SCHOLARSHIPS 

The problem of the large number of high school students who are em- 
ployed in part-time work is not solved by the development of em- 
ployment offices in high schools for the purpose of placing students 
in positions to prevent their exploitation. The appointment of 
special members of the staffs of high schools to advise with students 
who must be in part self-supporting is not a solution of the problem. 
Both methods, together with co-operation with the present ad- 
ministrative organization of the co-operative classes in New York, 
would assist students who are working while attending school. The 
problem of the working student, however, is more fundamental than 
either of the above solutions would seem to indicate. 

A study of the number of students who are working, the kind of 
work they are doing, their remuneration, and the number of hours 
they are employed outside of the school leads one to the question, 
Is not the work done in order to secure funds actually handicapping 
the student in his course to such an extent as to render him of less 
value to society? The present study has not answered that question, 
nor are any data at hand which will answer it. The investigations 
previously described indicate that students working outside of school 
hours are doing generally as efficient school work as those not working. 
As has already been suggested this may be due to the fact that the 
boys in high school who are supporting themselves either wholly 
or in part are a selected group. The data already presented indicate 
that there is more elimination among the students who are working 
outside of school hours than among those who are not working. It 
may be that the marks working students secure are not a measure of 
their real ability. These marks are the result of work carried on in 

[73] 



spite of great handicaps in many cases, and were the student free to 
devote all his time to his studies, it might well be that his school work 
would be greatly improved. 

Another problem which has frequently been considered by the 
writer and upon which there are no data, is the effect of long hours of 
outside work on the health of the student. Students who are working 
have been shown to have much less recreation than those who are not 
working. This is just as true of hours spent in the gymnasium and the 
athletic field as of recreation less valuable from the standpoint of 
physical development. And again there is no method of measuring 
the loss in the development of the social life of the boy due to the 
fact that he is unable to participate in as many school activities as 
the boy who does not work. Many interviews with students made the 
writer feel that an enormous amount of energy is being used in earning 
small amounts of money, and that this energy might be expended 
frequently in some direction which would mean more to the indi- 
vidual. This seemed especially true in the case of many foreign- 
born boys. Their contacts with other students in school activities 
outside the class room would seem to be well worth emphasizing, 
for frequently there is no other opportunity to come in touch with 
American life. At least two of the boys who were interviewed re- 
garding their athletic activities replied that they engaged in none, 
as athletics did not bring in any financial return. Altogether it may 
well be that the student who is self-supporting in the secondary school 
thereby makes himself a less efficient future member of society. 

In the United States secondary education is free to all. We have 
indicated our belief that for every one who can profit by a secondary 
education, free opportunity should be offered, but at the same time 
to a certain extent we are actually selecting those who are to profit 
by it from the upper economic classes. Where the student comes 
from a family which is unable to give clothing and living expenses 
for more than the period of compulsory school attendance, society 
provides no organized means of carrying him on to higher education 
no matter how promising he may be. A theory that education should 
be free to all does actually result in failing to provide means by which 

[741 



those of the lowest economic classes can continue in school, unless 
they are able to support themselves wholly or in part. 

In England, although secondary education is not free, there is a 
recognition that ability wherever it may be, should be given an oppor- 
tunity to develop. Free places are very generally provided in sec- 
ondary schools. All state-aided secondary schools with a few ex- 
ceptions are required to provide 25 per cent of their places free, 
and the actual number of free places in secondary schools receiving 
grants from the government was 33 per cent of the attendance in 
1913-14. 

Moreover, in England a system of maintenance grants has been 
developed for children of limited means. In 1911-12 there were 
38,000 scholarships for general education not of a technical nature, 
and of these, three-eighths, or 13,250, carried maintenance allowances 
in addition. Under this system a child beginning at the age of eleven 
or twelve may be given a scholarship with a small maintenance 
allowance, and if his school work merits it, be granted further scholar- 
ships carrying larger maintenance allowances until he has completed 
the university. 

There are two theories upon which the award of scholarships 
might be made. The grant might be a reward for special ability and 
industry, the prize to be obtained only by special effort and self-denial. 
On the other hand, the scholarships might be freely bestowed on all 
who show a fair measure of capacity and attainment. The latter 
policy is the one held in issuing scholarships for secondary education 
in England, and is especially marked in the distribution of scholar- 
ships by the London County Council. 

The two principles which seem most fundamental in the awarding 
of scholarships and maintenance funds in England are those of ade- 
quacy and the financial ability of the parent. Students holding 
scholarships to which maintenance funds are attached are prohibited 
from holding any other scholarship at the time, nor can such students 
take any employment outside of their school work. Beginning with 
a maintenance grant of about $30 while the scholarship holder is 
from eleven to fourteen years old, the amount increases to $90 from 

[75] 



the age of fourteen to sixteen, and from $100 to $125 the following 
three years. These are the grants of the London County Council 
and vary in different parts of the country. These amounts vary 
also to correspond with differences in the income of parents. 

The second principle, the financial ability of parents, is funda- 
mental to the entire system of granting maintenance funds. In 
theory, assistance is not to be granted unless the family of the boy is 
unable to support him. In some parts of England parents must 
assure the local authorities of this fact, and in still other places an 
investigation is made to determine the financial standing of the 
student's family. In general where the parents' income exceeds two 
thousand dollars no assistance is given the child, and the amounts 
cited in the preceding paragraph are for children whose parents have 
an income of less than eight hundred dollars. 

As has been pointed out at the beginning of the chapter, we do not 
know in the United States what the cost to society and to the indi- 
vidual may be of our system of free schools and the accompanying 
self-support on the part of many students. The expenditure of much 
effort, the possible impairment of health, the cutting down of leisure 
hours, and the impossibility of identifying oneself with extra-cur- 
ricular activities because of long working hours outside the class, 
doubtless result in handicapping many students in their later achieve- 
ments. Some become discouraged, and the higher elimination among 
working students is probably in part due to this. 

We have recognized in our higher institutions the need for scholar- 
ships sometimes carrying maintenance funds. These are awarded j 
on the theory that society as a whole will benefit by the student 
entering the profession for which he is preparing, that the money 
cost of the scholarship or fellowship will be returned to society in the 
service later to be rendered by the individual. Recognition of the 
handicap of outside work for scholarship holders is at least occa- 
sionally indicated by the prohibition of other employment. We do 
to a certain extent in higher education recognize the advisability of 
picking men and women of ability and giving them free a higher 
education. 

[76] 



I 



In Eogland there is the same recognition of the necessity for se- 
curing the ablest members of society regardless of their economic 
standing for the professions. However, much more emphasis is 
placed upon this policy than in the United States, and the entire 
scholarship system is frankly stated to be for the purpose of securing 
trained leaders in government positions and in professional callings. 
With this in mind the ablest in the elementary schools are chosen and 
given opportunities to continue their studies even though from poor 
homes. This would seem to be a much more consistent policy than 
is that of New York City. Here the child from the poor home earns 
his way through high school. He may be offered, to be sure, an 
ccasional scholarship with maintenance in our higher institutions. 



77 



APPENDIX 

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NEW YORK 



Earnings Per Hour 



De Witt 
Clinton 



"Wadleigh 



Girls' Eastern 
District 



Boys' Eastern 
District 



£0.01-0.05 
0.06-0.10 
0.11-0.15 
0.16-0.20 

0.21-0.25 
0.26-O.30 
0.31-0.35 
0.36-0.40 

0.41-0.45 
0.46-0.50 
0.51-0.55 
0.56-0.60 

0.61-0.65 
0.66-0.70 
0.71-0.75 
0.76-0.80 

0.81-0.85 
0.86-0.90 
0.91-0.95 
0.96-0.1.00 

1.10 
1.22 
1.37 
1.40 

1.50 
1.66 
1.70 
1.75 

2.00 
2.37 
2.70 
4.00 
6.00 



3 

49 
83 
69 

52 
10 
10 
16 

9 

22 

1 

3 

4 
4 

7 
2 


1 
1 

5 




6 
4 
5 

11 
1 
2 
3 

1 
9 




15 
11 

2 

5 
5 
3 
1 

3 

16 

2 



53.00 for one- 
half hour) 



1 
17 

13 
18 

25 
5 
5 
4 

2 

14 

1 

2 



[78] 



SUMMER WORK OF 84 DE WITT CLINTON STUDENTS 



Hours per Week Numbei 


i of Boys Salary per 


Week 


1- 10 


6 $1.50 


1 


11- 20 


5 2.00 


1 


21- 30 


9 2.50 


3 


31- 40 


1 3.00 


5 


41- 50 32 3.50 


1 


51- 60 22 4.00 


10 


61- 70 


1 4.50 


2 


71- 80 


2 5.00 


9 


81- 90 


3 5.50 


4 


91-100 


1 6.00 


25 


101-110 


1 6.50 


2 




7.00 


7 






8.00 


3 






9.00 


1 






10.00 


4 






12.00 


1 






14.00 


2 






15.00 


1 






35.00 


1 






50.00 


1 






84 



Median, $6.00 
Quartile, 4.25 
Quartile, 6.75 
Average, 6.79 



WORK WHICH BOYS WORKING FOR WAGES ARE DOING 



Teaching 

Newspaper 

Musical work 

Lighting lamps 

Library work 

Work in stores 

Order, delivery boy 

Clerk 

Pawn broker's shop 

Office 

Collecting, soliciting .... 

Typewriter 

Pasting, cutting, clipping 

Bookkeeping 

Office boy 

Address envelopes 

Show-card writer 

Messenger 

Telephone 

R.R. mail clerk 

Post-office clerk 

Collecting advertising . . . 
Dental laboratory 



79 




De Witt Clinton 

27 

35 

2 



14 
1 



WORK WHICH BOYS WORKING FOR WAGES ARE DOING (Continued) 



Eastern District De Witt Clinton 



Assistant insurance agent 

Distributing circulars 

Collecting books 

Writing bills 

Waiter 

Manager restaurant 

Lunch room 

Carrying breakfasts 

Coat-room boy 

Bell-hop 

General work 

Renting umbrellas 

Painting 

Peddling apples 

Printing 

Beating rugs 

Selling stamps 

Milk wagon 

Acolyte 

Chauffeur 

Selling candy, theater 

Bowling alley 

Usher 

Tending furnace 

Barber 

Brush boy, barber shop 

Camera work 

Spin wool 

Carry trunks 

Paper boxes 

Blocking gloves 

Detective 

Mechanical work 

Pasting paper on umbrellas 

Selling golf balls 

Advertising boy 

Factory 

Collecting life insurance 

Writing letters 

Display covers 

Look over books 

Cleaning 

Tire on auto 

Stage work 

Amateur actor 

Serve summons 

Housework 

Overhaul sewing machine 

Preaching 

Express 

Carrying coal 

Subscriptions for magazines 

Chop wood 

Cashier 

Cleaning store 

Setting up pins 

Electrical work 

[80] 



WHAT HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS DO TO EARN MONEY WHILE 
IN SCHOOL 



Teaching 

Music 

English 

Hebrew 

Dancing .... 

Sewing 

Store 

Saleslady. . . . 

Wrapper. . . . 

Clerical 

Cashier 

Typewriting . 

Cash girl .... 
Office work. . . . 

Stenography . 

Circulars .... 

Address t 
velopes 

Bookkeeping. 

Auditing. . . . 



Wadleigh 



17 

2 

'2 

2 



25 



Eastern 
District 



21 
5 
2 
1 



20 



21 



Housework 

Wash windows 

Sewing 

Waitress 

Minding baby. 
Play for dances . 
Play for society. . 

Posing 

Embroidery. . . . 

Dressing 

Paint cards, color 

negatives 

Serve as maid . . . 
Prize for suffrage 

speech 

Millinery 

Assist dentist 

Write composition 
Knitting 



Wadleigh 



Eastern 
District 



NUMBER OF TIMES RECREATION ACTIVITIES WERE ENGAGED IN 






DURING WEEK 










Boys Working 






Less Than 10 


Number of 


Boys not 


10 Hours or 


Less Than 10 






Times 


Working 


More for Pay 


Hours for Pay 


out Pay 


out Pay 







3 


1 




1 


1 




2 








2 


2 


6 


1 


1 




3 


3 


4 


1 


1 


1 


4 


6 


3 




3 




5 


2 






1 


1 


6 


4 






3 




7 


5 


2 






1 


8 


5 


1 


2 


3 


3 


9 


7 


1 


3 


2 


2 


10 


4 


3 


1 




1 


11 


9 


1 


2 


1 


1 


12 


4 




2 




2 


13 


1 


4 


1 


1 


3 


14 


3 






1 


1 


2 


15 


4 






1 


1 


1 


16 


3 






1 






1 


17 


2 












1 


18 


1 












1 


19 


1 












1 


20 


1 














21 










f 


5 




22 














1 


23 
















24 








2 








25 
















26 
















27 
















28 


1 















81 



RECREATION OF 161 DE WITT CLINTON 
ONE WEEK 


BOYS 


5 DURING 




Activities 


Working 
Boys 


Boys Not 
Working 


Per Cent 
op Boys 
Working 


Per Cent of 
Boys Not 
Working 


Movies 


28 

34 

6 

9 

57 

44 

21 

18 

28 

8 

25 

1 

5 

4 

5 

2 

2 

2 

1 

i 
l 
l 

l 

4 


39 

45 

6 

16 

68 

44 

21 

23 

41 

11 

10 

4 

4 

2 

4 

2 

2 

i 

1 
*2 

'4 
i 
i 
i 
i 


36 
44 
8 
11 
73 
56 
27 
23 
36 
10 
32 


47 


Theater 


54 


Pool 


7 


Dancing 


19 


Walking 


82 


Clubs 


53 


Gymnasium 


25 


Swimming 


28 


Athletic act 


49 


Cards 


13 


Checkers 


12 


Football 




Chess 










Dominoes 




Bicycling 




Reading 




Skating 




Street play 




Tennis 




Handball 




Violin 




Lottoes 




Basketball 

Croquet 




Games at home 




Soccer 




Golf 




Recreation center 




Billiards, home 















Of the boys who were working, 5 mentioned no recreation during 
the preceding week; 1 of the boys who were not working reported no 
recreation. 



Kinds of Work Co-operative Students are Doing 

The descriptions of the kinds of work co-operative girls are doing 
are presented because of the bearing they have on the success of 
co-ordinators in finding opportunities for students. Both the 
dressmaking and the commercial groups were from Washington 
Irving High School. Several of the girls in the dressmaking class have 
given their opinion of the co-operative course. The commercial 
course students are working in the Department of Education, and 
a description of the work done in two of the offices is attached. 

[82] 



That these girls consider this work in the offices of the Department 
of Education of value is evidenced by the fact that they are glad 
to devote every other week to it, although as yet there is no compen- 
sation provided. 

Students in Dressmaking Course — Mary P.: At C's I have gained 
a great deal in sewing especially on the finishing of skirts. At M's 
I have done embroidery, which I did not care for much although 
I have accomplished a great deal in embroidery. In N's I finished 
linings, embroidered, and various other things. To me the co- 
operative work was very interesting and I learned much. 

Rose K. : I found it a big experience going out working. I've 
learned the various things one has to go through in the business 
world. I also found that I had to follow directions the first time 
they were given. I also feel that I work much quicker now. I've 
gained speed. My opinion of co-operative work is good. It teaches 
one accuracy, speed, self-control, and many other things. 

Katherine J.: I feel as though I gained a great deal in the six 
months I worked, for one thing experience. Another thing I 
gained is to concentrate and listen to given directions and be able 
to carry them out carefully without having them repeated. My 
opinion of this work is most favorable because it gives a girl an idea 
of what work is and prepares her. There are numerous little things 
in the way of sewing that could not be taught in school because of 
the lack of time. I really think that this plan should be continued. 

Wilhemina K. : I gained six weeks' experience in the shop. I 
learned how the shops are run and the different things a beginner 
must do. I learned how to do things a little different than in school, 
but still have the same result. I think this co-operative course is 
a good one because the girls get an outside experience. 

Martha H. : At Miss H's place I didn't gain very much. I learned 
how to make fancy beaded ornaments. At the other two places I 
received the knowledge of making and winding lampshades, also 
putting on linings on the shades. My opinion of this co-operative 
work is that I think it a benefit to every girl who goes out to these 
shops. I found the lampshade work very interesting, just by glanc- 
ing up at intervals at my neighbors, although it was tiresome winding 
the shades almost two continuous weeks. I believe I should be able 
to make a lampshade if I attempted it. 

Henrietta M. : I learned how to make satin linings with net sleeves 
to complete the whole thing. At A's I learned how to make lamp- 
shades, bind corners, line and trim the shades in all shapes. 

Millie D.: I feel that I gained very much from the co-operative 
work. I know I can go and apply now as an experienced lampshade 

[83] 



maker. I liked the work very much, but I should like much better 
a dressmaking establishment. I don't think I should like to work 
at lampshades after I leave school. 

Hilda K. : I gained self-reliance, some experience in finishing, and 
an idea of lampshade making. I also learned at what prices the 
various articles are sold. My opinion of the work is excellent in 
that it helps in securing positions after graduation. I suggest that 
more places be found for colored girls. Such was my experience. 

Helen H.: I gained a great deal by going to the shops, namely, 
finishing to every detail, how to press velvet correctly, various kinds 
of embroidery. My opinion is that I am very much in favor of the 
co-operative work, though it is quite strenuous. My idea on this 
subject would be to extend dressmaking course for another term. 
The girls would then have a chance to discuss thoroughly their ex- 
perience and drill on the weak points. This I think would make 
them better fit for business. 

Ethel R.: I gained practical experience, ideas for dresses and the 
way to act business-like. I think that the work I did is all right 
while in school because the girls are gaining experience all the time, 
but I think it very unsatisfactory work for a high school graduate, 
and quite a number of girls continue doing this work after graduation 
because they have become used to the finishing of dresses and never 
aspire to anything higher or more worth-while. 

Students in Commercial Course — In the first office students were 
given the following dictation: Letters, reports, resolutions, calendar, 
testimony, and minutes of meetings. The work given them to 
typewrite consists of dictated matter, copied letters, reports, legal 
matter, minutes, extracts from board journal, board calendar, res- 
olutions, estimates for contracts, testimony, speeches, addressed 
envelopes, tabulations, filled in circulars, forms, etc., and cutting 
stencils. In addition, the girls were given other office work as follows : 
Reading to clerk for correction of minutes, communications, etc., 
pasting minutes in a book and indexing them, pasting clippings in a 
book, assorting legislative bills, sending blanks to principals, folding 
circulars, telephoning, mimeographing, operating telephone switch- 
board. 

In the second office girls took dictation of reports, letters, and min- 
utes of meetings. They were given the following typewriting: Dic- 
tated matter, copied letters, reports, lists, statement of expen- 

[84] 



ditures, etc., statements showing number of admissions, transfers, 
discharges and records of newsboys' badges, filling in forms, cards, 
etc., addressing envelopes and cards, tabulating, and cutting stencils. 
Girls were also expected to file correspondence, attendance cards, 
and employment record cards, and check addressed envelopes with 
index cards. Other office work given them was comparing lists, etc., 
for verification; folding circulars and preparing them for mailing; 
counting cards, etc.; checking names and finding cards for them; 
using billing machine; telephoning, and mimeographing. 



[85] 



QUESTIONNAIRE USED IN STUDY 



Indicate how long you have had the position reported, years, months, days. 

If you work for wages please indicate 

What months, how many number of what did how much did employer's employer's 

days, hours daily, you do, you earn? name, business. 

July, 1915 
August, 1915 
September, 1915 
October, 1915 

If you do not work for wages please indicate 
What months, how many days, number of what kind of work, for whom? 

hours daily, 
July, 1915 
August, 1915 
September, 1915 
October, 1915 

If you tried to get a job last summer indicate below what you did to get one: 
Registered at an employment agency Answered advertisements 

Asked teacher to find me a place Called on employers 

Asked friends Advertised 

Through family influence 

What were you doing on the hours indicated below during the past three days? 

Yesterday, Day before yesterday, Day before that. 

Before 7 A.M. 

7 to 8 

8 to 9 

9 to 10 

10 to 11 

11 to 12 

12 to 1 

1 to 2 

2 to 3 

3 to 4 

4 to 5 

5 to 6 

6 to 7 

7 to 8 

8 to 9 

9 to 10 
After 10 

After you leave high school, check on the list below what you intend doing: 
Go to college. 

Go to some other school; if so, what kind of school? 
Go into an office; if so, what kind of office? 
Go into business; if so, what kind of business? 
Go into some other kind of work; if so, what? 

Is the work you are doing outside of school 

Of no help in what you intend doing after you leave High School? 

The same kind of work you expect to enter later? 

Somewhat like the work you will enter? 

If it will help your future work in some other way, what is that way? 

If you were born abroad, how many years have you been in this country? In this city? 

What language do you speak at home? 

What is your father's occupation? Does he own his business? 

How many older brothers and sisters have you? 

What does each do? 

In what grade was each when he left school? 

Do you live in a flat or a private house? If a flat, how many rooms? 

Do you occupy the whole house, or do you rent part of it? 

Check below recreations you have had the past week giving number of times engaged in 

Movies Clubs .,..,. 

Theater Gymnasium (outside of school hours) 

Pool or billiard hall Swimming pool 

Dance hall Athletic field 

Walking Games at home 
Name any other engaged in. 



86 



QUESTIONNAIRE USED IN STUDY 



Name Age School 

Address Father's birthplace? Your birthplace 

How many terms have you been in high school? 

Kindly fill in the following blanks if you have done any work other than school work the past week 

Work f or wages the Work without wages 

past week No. Amt. the past week No. 

Kind of Work Hours Received Kind of Work For whom Hours 



Monday.. 



Tuesday- 



Wednesday. 
Thursday ... 



Friday. 



Saturday. 
Sunday.... 



How do you use your money? 

If you have been working for wages the past week, please state how you secured your position. 

Please fill in the last grades you received in the subjects you were taking last term. 

English Latin Modern Languages Mathematics Science History 



87 



